(HC) Brooks v. Fox ( 2019 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 HAROLD B. BROOKS, No. 2:19-cv-00879 JAM GGH P 12 Petitioner, 13 v. ORDER 14 R. FOX, 15 Respondent. 16 17 Petitioner, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has requested that this action be dismissed 18 until petitioner has exhausted all state remedies. ECF No. 32. Petitioner is cautioned that the 19 habeas corpus statute imposes a one-year statute of limitations for filing non-capital habeas 20 corpus petitions in federal court. Petitioner has indicated he is seeking to challenge his parole 21 denial by the Board of Parole Hearings. ECF No. 32 at 3. 22 A prisoner challenging a parole decision is first eligible to file a federal habeas petition only after state habeas proceedings are 23 complete. Before state prisoners can file a federal habeas petition, they “must give the state courts one full opportunity to resolve any 24 constitutional [claims] by invoking one complete round of the State's established appellate review process.” O'Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 25 U.S. 838, 845, 119 S.Ct. 1728, 144 L.Ed.2d 1 (1999). Because California does not provide for direct appellate review of parole 26 board decisions, state habeas review is the first and only opportunity the California state courts have to hear a prisoner's constitutional 27 claims. State prisoners challenging parole board decisions must therefore exhaust state habeas relief before they file a federal habeas 28 petition. 1 Redd v. McGrath, 343 F.3d 1077, 1082 (9th Cir. 2003). No answer or motion to dismiss having 2 been filed, the court construes petitioner's request to dismiss as a notice of voluntary dismissal 3 without prejudice pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(i). 4 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 5 1. Petitioner’s request to withdraw writ of habeas corpus (ECF No. 32) is construed as a 6 notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. R. 41(a)(1)(A)(i); and 7 2. The Clerk of the Court is directed to close this case. 8 Dated: September 25, 2019 /s/ Gregory G. Hollows 9 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28