Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cv-01980/USCOURTS-cand-3_19-cv-01980-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Daniel Cohen
Petitioner
Patrick Covello
Respondent

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DANIEL COHEN,

Plaintiff,

v.

PATRICK COVELLO,

Defendant.

Case No.19-cv-01980-JSC 

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

INTRODUCTION

Petitioner, a prisoner of the State of California proceeding pro se, filed a petition for a writ 

of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his conviction in Santa Cruz County 

Superior Court.1 He has paid the filing fee. Because the petition states cognizable grounds for 

federal habeas relief, a response from Respondent is warranted. 

BACKGROUND

In 2016, a jury found Petitioner and his mother guilty of first-degree murder. The special 

circumstance of lying in wait was found to be true, as were enhancements for the use of a firearm. 

The trial court sentenced Petitioner to a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Petitioner filed an appeal, a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, and a request for funds for an 

expert psychiatric witness in the California Court of Appeal, all of which were denied. He filed a 

petition for review in the California Supreme Court of the denial of his appeal, and a separate 

 

1 Petitioner has consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 

U.S.C. § 636(c). (ECF No. 5.) 

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

petition for review in the California Supreme Court of the denial of his habeas petition. Both 

petitions were summarily denied. Petitioner then filed the instant federal petition. 

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

This Court may entertain a petition for a writ of habeas corpus “in behalf of a person in 

custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in 

violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). It 

shall “award the writ or issue an order directing the respondent to show cause why the writ should 

not be granted, unless it appears from the application that the applicant or person detained is not 

entitled thereto.” Id. § 2243. 

II. Legal Claims

Petitioner claims that his Sixth Amendment rights to counsel and to present a defense were 

violated because he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial, and his motion for funds for 

ancillary services was also denied. These claims, when liberally construed, present cognizable 

grounds for federal habeas relief. 

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons and for good cause shown,

1. The Clerk shall serve a Magistrate Judge jurisdiction consent form, a copy of this 

Order, and the petition, and all attachments thereto, on Respondent and Respondent’s attorney, the 

Attorney General of the State of California. The Clerk also shall serve a copy of this Order on 

Petitioner. 

2. Respondent shall complete and file the Magistrate Judge jurisdiction consent form in 

accordance with the deadline provided on the form. 

3. Respondent shall also file with the Court and serve on Petitioner, within ninety-one (91)

days of the date this Order is issued, an answer conforming in all respects to Rule 5 of the Rules 

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Governing Section 2254 Cases, showing cause why a writ of habeas corpus should not be granted. 

Respondent shall file with the answer and serve on Petitioner a copy of all portions of the state 

trial record that have been transcribed previously and that are relevant to a determination of the 

issues presented by the petition. If Petitioner wishes to respond to the answer, he shall do so by 

filing a traverse (a reply) with the Court and serving it on Respondent within twenty-eight (28)

days of the date the answer is filed.

4. Respondent may, within ninety-one (91) days of the date this Order is issued, file a 

motion to dismiss on procedural grounds in lieu of an answer, as set forth in the Advisory 

Committee Notes to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases. If Respondent files such 

a motion, Petitioner shall file with the Court and serve on Respondent an opposition or statement 

of non-opposition within twenty-eight (28) days of the date the motion is filed, and Respondent 

shall file with the Court and serve on Petitioner a reply within fourteen (14) days of the date any 

opposition is filed.

5. It is Petitioner’s responsibility to prosecute this case. Petitioner must keep the Court 

informed of any change of address by filing a separate paper captioned “Notice of Change of 

Address.” He must comply with the Court’s orders in a timely fashion. Failure to do so may 

result in the dismissal of this action for failure to prosecute pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 41(b).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: June 24, 2019

JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY

United States Magistrate Judge

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

DANIEL COHEN,

Plaintiff,

v.

PATRICK COVELLO,

Defendant.

Case No. 19-cv-01980-JSC 

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 June 24, 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.

Daniel Cohen ID: AZ8422

RJ Donovan Correctional Facility

480 Alta Road

San Diego, CA 92179 

Dated: June 24, 2019

Susan Y. Soong

Clerk, United States District Court

By:________________________

Ada Means, Deputy Clerk to the 

Honorable JACQUELINE SCOTT CORLEY

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