(HC) Sifuentez v. Unknown ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RANDY SIFUENTEZ, Case No. 2:21-cv-01244-WBS-JDP (HC) 12 Petitioner, ORDER: 13 v. (1) GRANTING PETITIONER’S APPLICATION TO PROCEED IN FORMA 14 UNKNOWN, PAUPERIS; 15 Respondent. (2) DENYING AS MOOT HIS REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF TIME; AND 16 (3) FINDING THAT THE PETITION DOES 17 NOT STATE A COGNIZABLE CLAIM AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND WITHIN 18 SIXTY DAYS 19 ECF Nos. 4, 8, & 10 20 21 Petitioner, proceeding without counsel, seeks a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 22 § 2254. I have reviewed the petition, and it appears that petitioner did not exhaust his claims 23 before filing this case. I will give petitioner a chance to amend and confirm the status of his 24 claims before recommending that this action be dismissed. 25 The amended petition is before me for preliminary review under Rule 4 of the Rules 26 Governing Section 2254 Cases. Under Rule 4, the judge assigned to the habeas proceeding must 27 examine the habeas petition and order a response to the petition unless it “plainly appears” that 28 1 | the petitioner is not entitled to relief. See Valdez v. Montgomery, 918 F.3d 687, 693 (9th Cir. 2 | 2019); Boyd v. Thompson, 147 F.3d 1124, 1127 (9th Cir. 1998). 3 Petitioner raises numerous claims related to a September 2015 conviction. He states that, 4 | after bringing his claims before the California Fifth District Court of Appeal, he did not pursue 5 | them further in state court. ECF No. 10 at 3. Federal habeas claims must be exhausted by being 6 | presented to the highest state court. Castille v. Peoples, 489 U.S. 346, 351 (1989). Here, 7 | petitioner was required to put claims before the California Supreme Court. If petitioner’s claims 8 | are unexhausted, they may not proceed. He may file an amended petition that reasserts all his 9 | claims and confirms their status with regard to exhaustion. 10 It is ORDERED that: 11 1. Petitioner’s application to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF No. 4, is granted. 12 2. Petitioner’s motion for extension of time to file a habeas petition, ECF No. 8, is 13 |} denied as moot. 14 3. Petitioner may file an amended petition within sixty days of this order’s entry. If 15 | he does not, I will recommend that the current petition be dismissed for the reasons stated in this 16 | order. 17 4. The Clerk of Court is directed to send petitioner a federal habeas form. 18 19 IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 ( 1 Oy — Dated: _ September 8, 2021 21 JEREMY D. PETERSON 9 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 23 24 25 26 27 28