Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-01457/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-01457-4/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

JOAQUIN MURRIETTA MARTINEZ,

Petitioner,

Civil No. 13cv1457-BTM (WVG)

ORDER DENYING REQUEST

vs. FOR RELIEF

DR. JEFFREY BEARD, Secretary,

Respondent.

Petitioner is proceeding pro se with a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus filed pursuant

to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Presently pending before the Court are Petitioner’s Motion for Stay and

Motion to Amend the Petition. The Court has ordered consolidated briefing on those Motions

which it has not yet received.

The Court has received a Notice of Assisting Petitioner and Prayer for Relief filed by

Anthony Ivan Bobadilla, a person currently incarcerated with Petitioner, who states:

I have examined the [sic] somewhat file and the records in this case and have

preliminary [sic] determined that petitioner has no comprehension how the

procedural [sic] nor the capacity to proceed [sic] the petition for writ of habeas

corpus and its [sic] evident. [¶] However, I myself don’t have the experience

with federal habeas corpus petitions; although I do have the patience and

sufficiencyto comprehend with enthusiasmin participating within the justice [sic]

in the matters of fundamental constitutional rights; foremost petitioner is in need

of assistance; therefore I am voluntary [sic] assisting petitioner and fourth [sic]

respectfully request to this court [sic] order a hold at this institution; wherefore I

could assist petitioner and so petitioner [sic] confinement won’t change as so [sic]

it has in the past.

(ECF No. 45 at 4.)

-1- 13cv1457

Case 3:13-cv-01457-BTM-WVG Document 46 Filed 12/08/14 Page 1 of 2
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To the extent Inmate Bobadilla is requesting appointment of “next friend” status to assist

Petitioner in this action, is request is denied. The Supreme Court has stated that:

“[N]ext friend” standing is by no means granted automatically to whomever seeks

to pursue and action on behalf of another. Decisions applying the habeas corpus

statute have adhered to at least two firmly rooted prerequisites for “next friend”

standing. First, a “next friend” must provide an adequate explanation-such as

inaccessibility, mental incompetence, or other disability-why the real party in

interest cannot appear on his own behalf to prosecute the action. Second, the next

friend must be truly dedicated to the best interests of the person on whose behalf

he seeks to litigate and it has been further suggested that a next friend must have

some significant relationship with the real party in interest. The burden is on the

next friend clearly to establish the propriety of his status and thereby justify the

jurisdiction of the court.

Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 163-64 (1990) (internal citations omitted).

Inmate Bobadilla has satisfied neither of these requirements. In addition, a review of

Petitioner’s filings has provided no basis for an inquiry, much less a finding, that Petitioner is

not competent to prosecute this action. See Rees v. Payton, 384 U.S. 312, 314 (1966) (stating

that competence to proceed in federal habeas turns on whether the petitioner suffers from a

mental defect or disease and, if so, whether it prevents petitioner from understanding the legal

situation, and, if not, does the mental disorder nevertheless prevent him from making a rational

choice among his options.)

The request for an order directing that Bobadilla and/or Petitioner not be transferred to

another institution while this action is pending is DENIED.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: December 8, 2014

BARRY TED MOSKOWITZ, Chief Judge

United States District Court

-2- 13cv1457

Case 3:13-cv-01457-BTM-WVG Document 46 Filed 12/08/14 Page 2 of 2