Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_24-cv-01069/USCOURTS-caed-1_24-cv-01069-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Timothy Taylor
Respondent
Anthony Robert Tirado
Petitioner

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ANTHONY ROBERT TIRADO,

Petitioner,

v.

TIMOTHY TAYLOR, 

Respondent.

Case No. 1:24-cv-01069-SAB-HC

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION TO 

DISMISS PETITION FOR WRIT OF 

HABEAS CORPUS

ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT 

TO RANDOMLY ASSIGN DISTRICT 

JUDGE

Petitioner is a federal prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus 

pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. 

I.

BACKGROUND

Petitioner is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Mendota, 

California, serving a sentence imposed by the United States District Court for the Southern

District of Alabama. (ECF No. 1 at 1.1) On September 9, 2024, Petitioner filed the instant 

petition for writ of habeas corpus. Therein, Petitioner asserts that he is in custody in violation of 

the Fourth and Fifth Amendments because Congress has classified marijuana as a dangerous 

substance without compelling reasons. (Id. at 5.)

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1 Page numbers refer to the ECF page numbers stamped at the top of the page.

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II.

DISCUSSION

Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases2requires preliminary review of a 

habeas petition and allows a district court to dismiss a petition before the respondent is ordered 

to file a response, if it “plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the 

petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.” Rule 4, Rules Governing Section 2254

Cases in the United States District Courts, 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254.

A federal prisoner who wishes to challenge the validity or constitutionality of his federal 

conviction or sentence must do so by moving the court that imposed the sentence to vacate, set 

aside, or correct the sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Alaimalo v. United States, 645 F.3d 1042, 

1046 (9th Cir. 2011). “The general rule is that a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is the exclusive 

means by which a federal prisoner may test the legality of his detention, and that restrictions on 

the availability of a § 2255 motion cannot be avoided through a petition under 28 U.S.C. 

§ 2241.” Stephens v. Herrera, 464 F.3d 895, 897 (9th Cir. 2006) (citations omitted).

Nevertheless, a “savings clause” or “escape hatch” exists in § 2255(e) by which a federal 

prisoner may seek relief under § 2241 if he can demonstrate the remedy available under § 2255 

to be “inadequate or ineffective to test the validity of his detention.” Alaimalo, 645 F.3d at 1047 

(internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2255); Harrison v. Ollison, 519 F.3d 

952, 956 (9th Cir. 2008); Hernandez v. Campbell, 204 F.3d 861, 864–65 (9th Cir. 2000) (per 

curiam). The Ninth Circuit has recognized that it is a very narrow exception. See Ivy v. Pontesso, 

328 F.3d 1057, 1059 (9th Cir. 2003). The remedy under § 2255 usually will not be deemed 

inadequate or ineffective merely because a prior § 2255 motion was denied, or because a remedy 

under § 2255 is procedurally barred. Id. The burden is on the petitioner to show that the remedy 

is inadequate or ineffective. Redfield v. United States, 315 F.2d 76, 83 (9th Cir. 1963).

“An inquiry into whether a § 2241 petition is proper under these circumstances is critical 

to the determination of district court jurisdiction” because § 2241 petitions must be heard in the 

2 The Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases apply to § 2241 habeas petitions. See Rule 1(b) of the Rules Governing 

Section 2254 Cases (“The district court may apply any or all of these rules to a habeas corpus petition not covered 

by” 28 U.S.C. § 2254.).

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custodial court while § 2255 motions must be heard in the sentencing court. Hernandez, 204 F.3d 

at 865. If the instant petition is properly brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, it may be heard in this 

Court. Conversely, if the instant petition is in fact a disguised § 2255 motion, it must be heard in 

the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama as the sentencing court.

A petitioner may proceed under § 2241 pursuant to the escape hatch when the petitioner 

“(1) makes a claim of actual innocence, and (2) has not had an ‘unobstructed procedural shot’ at 

presenting that claim.” Stephens, 464 F.3d at 898 (citing Ivy, 328 F.3d at 1060). In the Ninth 

Circuit, a claim of actual innocence for purposes of the § 2255 escape hatch is tested by the 

standard articulated by the Supreme Court in Bousley v. United States, 523 U.S. 614 (1998). 

Stephens, 464 F.3d at 898. In Bousley, the Supreme Court explained that “[t]o establish actual 

innocence, petitioner must demonstrate that, in light of all the evidence, it is more likely than not 

that no reasonable juror would have convicted him.” 523 U.S. at 623 (internal quotation marks 

and citation omitted). Furthermore, “actual innocence means factual innocence, not mere legal 

insufficiency.” Id. “In determining whether a petitioner had an unobstructed procedural shot to 

pursue his claim, we ask whether petitioner’s claim ‘did not become available’ until after a 

federal court decision. In other words, we consider: (1) whether the legal basis for petitioner’s 

claim ‘did not arise until after he had exhausted his direct appeal and first § 2255 motion;’ and 

(2) whether the law changed ‘in any way relevant’ to petitioner’s claim after that first § 2255 

motion.” Harrison, 519 F.3d at 960 (citations omitted)).

Here, Petitioner challenges Congress’s classification of marijuana as a dangerous

substance. Petitioner does not make a claim of actual innocence, which requires Petitioner to 

“demonstrate that, in light of all the evidence, it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror 

would have convicted him.” Bousley, 523 U.S. at 623 (internal quotation marks and citation 

omitted). Moreover, Petitioner has not established that he has not had an unobstructed procedural 

shot at presenting his claim previously because “a change in the law create[ed] a previously 

unavailable legal basis for petitioner’s claim.” Harrison, 519 F.3d at 961 (citing Ivy, 328 F.3d at 

1060).

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III.

RECOMMENDATION & ORDER

Based on the foregoing, the Court HEREBY RECOMMENDS that the petition for writ of 

habeas corpus be DISMISSED.

Further, the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to randomly assign this action to a District 

Judge.

This Findings and Recommendation is submitted to the assigned United States District 

Court Judge, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(B) and Rule 304 of the Local 

Rules of Practice for the United States District Court, Eastern District of California. Within 

THIRTY (30) days after service of the Findings and Recommendation, Petitioner may file 

written objections with the Court, limited to fifteen (15) pages in length, including any 

exhibits. Such a document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and 

Recommendation.” The assigned United States District Court Judge will then review the 

Magistrate Judge’s ruling pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C). The parties are advised that 

failure to file objections within the specified time may waive the right to appeal the District 

Court’s order. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 839 (9th Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. 

Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 8, 2024 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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