Source: http://ca.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20110118_0000811.ECA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2016-12-07 20:48:09
Document Index: 29655562

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2254', '§ 636', '§ 2244', '§ 2244', 'art, 549', '§ 2244']

| Curtis Owens v. Kelly Harrington
Curtis Owens v. Kelly Harrington
CURTIS OWENS, PETITIONER,v.KELLY HARRINGTON, RESPONDENT.
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DISMISS PETITION AS SUCCESSIVE PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. 2244(b)Doc. 1 AND TO DECLINE TO ISSUE A CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY DEADLINE FOR OBJECTIONS: THIRTY (30) DAYS
Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The matter has been referred to the Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Local Rules 302 and 304. Pending before the Court is the petition, which was filed on January 3, 2011.
Petitioner is an inmate of Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) serving a sentence of twenty-five (25) years to life imposed in the Fresno County Superior Court on December 5, 1999, for burglary, attempted burglary, and related offenses. (Pet. 1, 3.) In the petition, Petitioner challenges his conviction on grounds relating to the Superior Court's destruction of trial exhibits. (Pet. 6-8.)
On April 20, 2007, a first amended habeas petition challenging Petitioner's 1999 convictions was denied by this Court on the merits in Curtis Owens v. E. Roe, 1:03-cv-05327-LJOTAG. (Docs. 53, 54, 38.) The docket of that proceeding reflects that a notice of appeal from this Court's judgment was filed on May 22, 2007 (Doc. 59), and the appeal is presently pending.
A review through PACER of the Ninth Circuit's docket reflects that the appeal proceeds as Owens v. Harrington in case number 07-16013; briefing appears to have been completed, but no decision has issued.
A federal court must dismiss a second or successive petition that raises the same grounds as a prior petition. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1). The Court must also dismiss a second or successive petition raising a new ground unless the petitioner can show that 1) the claim rests on a new, retroactive, constitutional right or 2) the factual basis of the claim was not previously discoverable through due diligence, and the new facts establish by clear and convincing evidence that but for the constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder would have found the applicant guilty of the underlying offense. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(2)(A)-(B).
Here, the first petition concerning the Fresno County judgment was denied on the merits. The Court has considered the pendency of the appeal from the judgment rendered by this Court on the first petition. It is established that if a new petition is filed when a previous habeas petition is still pending before the district court without a decision having been rendered, then the new petition should be construed as a motion to amend the pending petition. Woods v. Carey, 525 F.3d 886, 888 (9th Cir. 2008). However, the Woods holding will not be extended to a situation where the district court has ruled on the initial petition, and proceedings have begun in the Court of Appeals. Beaty v. Schriro, 554 F.3d 780, 782-83 & n.1 (9th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, -- U.S. --, 130 S.Ct. 364, 175 L.Ed.2d 50 (2009). The petition presently before the Court is thus considered a successive petition because the district court denied the first petition on the merits and entered judgment, and the appeal is pending in the Ninth Circuit. Id.
Petitioner makes no showing that he has obtained prior leave from the Ninth Circuit to file his successive petition attacking the judgment. Accordingly, this court has no jurisdiction to consider Petitioner's renewed application for relief from that convictions under section 2254 and must dismiss the petition. See, Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651, 656-57; Burton v. Stewart, 549 U.S. 147, 152; Cooper v. Calderon, 274 F.3d 1270, 1274. If Petitioner desires to proceed in bringing this petition for writ of habeas corpus, he must file for leave to do so with the Ninth Circuit. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3).