Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_15-cv-01625/USCOURTS-casd-3_15-cv-01625-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SHANE MICHAEL WEESE, Civil No. 15cv1625-AJB (MDD)

Petitioner,

ORDER SUA SPONTE

v. SUBSTITUTING RESPONDENT

JEFFREY BEARD, Secretary,

Respondent.

On July 20, 2015, Petitioner, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, submitted a

Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. At the time of filing,

Petitioner was housed at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, California, and

thus named Warden Cynthia Y. Tampkins as a Respondent. (Pet. at 1.) Petitioner also

named Kamala Harris, the California Attorney General, as a Respondent. (Id.) Based on

the notice of change of address Petitioner submitted to the Court on July 31, 2015, it

appears Petitioner is no longer housed at the California Rehabilitation Center; rather, it

appears he is presently incarcerated at the California Training Facility in Soledad,

California.

A writ of habeas corpus acts upon the custodian of the state prisoner. See 28

U.S.C. § 2242; Rule 2(a), 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254. Because Petitioner’s place of custody

has changed, so has his custodian. Accordingly, in order to conform with the

requirements of Rule 2(a) of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases and to avoid changing

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the Respondent again if Petitioner is transferred to another prison or paroled, the Court

hereby sua sponte ORDERS the substitution of Jeffrey Beard, Secretary of the California

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as Respondent in place of Warden Cynthia

Y. Tampkins. See Ortiz-Sandoval v. Gomez, 81 F.3d 891, 894 (9th Cir. 1996) (stating

that the respondent in § 2254 proceedings may be the chief officer in charge of state penal

institutions).

Additionally, Kamala Harris, the Attorney General of the State of California, is not

a proper respondent in this action. Rule 2 of the Rules following § 2254 provides that the

state officer having custody of the petitioner shall be named as respondent. Rule 2(a), 28

U.S.C. foll. § 2254. However, “[i]f the petitioner is not yet in custody – but may be

subject to future custody – under the state-court judgment being contested, the petition

must name as respondents both the officer who has current custody and the attorney

general of the state where the judgement was entered.” Rule 2 (b), 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254. 

Here, there is no basis for Petitioner to have named the Attorney General as a respondent

in this action.

The Clerk of the Court shall modify the docket to reflect “Jeffery Beard, Secretary”

as respondent in place of Warden Cynthia Y. Tampkins and California Attorney General

Kamala Harris.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: August 6, 2015

 

 Hon. Mitchell D. Dembin

 U.S. Magistrate Judge

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