Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_18-cv-06588/USCOURTS-cand-4_18-cv-06588-2/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
John Sutton
Respondent
Michael Eugene Wyatt
Petitioner

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

MICHAEL EUGENE WYATT, 

Petitioner, 

v. 

JOHN SUTTON, 

Respondent. 

Case No. 18-cv-06588-PJH 

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR A 

STAY WITH LEAVE TO AMEND 

Re: Dkt. No. 29 

Petitioner, a California prisoner, proceeds with a pro se petition for a writ of 

habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The first two petitions were dismissed with 

leave to amend because it was not entirely clear the claims petitioner had presented. 

Liberally construing the second amended petition, petitioner asserted that: (1) the trial 

court erred by failing to instruct the jury on self-defense and imperfect self-defense; (2) 

there was insufficient evidence of premeditation and deliberation for first degree murder; 

and (3) ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to improper jury instructions 

and failing to present a claim of self-defense. The court found that those claims were 

sufficient to require a response and issued an order to show cause. The court noted that 

if those were not the claims petitioner wished to proceed with, he must inform the court 

within fourteen-days. Petitioner submitted several filings and indicated he wished to 

move forward with the order to show cause. Docket No. 24 at 2; Docket No. 26 at 1. 

Petitioner has now filed a motion requesting a stay to exhaust a claim regarding 

self-defense jury instructions. He argues he has shown good cause. In Rhines v. 

Weber, 544 U.S. 269 (2005) the United States Supreme Court found that a stay and 

abeyance of a mixed federal petition should be available only in the limited circumstance 

Case 4:18-cv-06588-PJH Document 30 Filed 04/01/19 Page 1 of 3
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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

that good cause is shown for a failure to have first exhausted the claims in state court, 

that the claim or claims at issue potentially have merit and that there has been no 

indication that petitioner has been intentionally dilatory in pursuing the litigation. Rhines, 

supra, at 277-78. 

While petitioner states he has shown good cause he has not presented any 

arguments for good cause about why he failed to exhaust the claim. It is also not clear if 

this is a new claim or a claim already identified by the court that is unexhausted. The 

motion for a stay (Docket No. 29) is DENIED without prejudice. Petitioner must file an 

amended motion for a stay by April 22, 2019. Petitioner must present arguments in 

support of good cause for a Rhines stay and he must describe if this is a new claim or 

one of the existing claims. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: April 1, 2019 

 

PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON 

United States District Judge 

 

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

a

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

MICHAEL EUGENE WYATT,

Plaintiff, 

v. 

JOHN SUTTON, 

Defendant. 

Case No. 18-cv-06588-PJH 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. 

District Court, Northern District of California. 

That on April 1, 2019, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing 

said copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by 

depositing said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery 

receptacle located in the Clerk's office. 

Michael Eugene Wyatt ID: AW6376

Wasco State Prison 

101 Scofield Avenue 

P.O. Box 8800 

Wasco, CA 93280 

Dated: April 1, 2019 

Susan Y. Soong 

Clerk, United States District Court 

By:________________________ 

Kelly Collins, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON 

Case 4:18-cv-06588-PJH Document 30 Filed 04/01/19 Page 3 of 3