(DP) Cowan v. Cates ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROBERT WESLEY COWAN, Case No. 1:19-cv-00745-DAD 12 Petitioner, DEATH PENALTY CASE 13 v. ORDER (1) GRANTING PETITIONER’S UNOPPOSED MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE 14 RONALD DAVIS, Warden of San Quentin RESPONDENT, and (2) DIRECTING THE State Prison, CLERK OF THE COURT TO SUBSTITUTE 15 THE NAME OF WARDEN BRIAN CATES Respondent. FOR WARDEN RONALD DAVIS AS 16 NAMED RESPONDENT 17 18 19 On December 8, 2021, petitioner Robert Wesley Cowan, through appointed counsel 20 Assistant Federal Defenders Jennifer Mann and Alyssa Mack, moved to substitute Brian 21 Cates, the Warden of the California Correctional Institution, as the respondent in this action in 22 place of Ronald Davis, the Warden of San Quentin State Prison. 23 Counsel for petitioner advise that counsel for respondent, Deputy Attorney General 24 Lewis Martinez, has no objection to the motion. 25 The court, having reviewed petitioner’s motion, the record, and the controlling law, will 26 grant substitution of Warden Brian Cates as named respondent, as discussed below. 27 A petition for writ of habeas corpus by an applicant in custody under a state court judgment shall name as respondent the state officer who has custody. 28 U.S.C. § 2242; Rules 1 Governing § 2254 Cases, Rule 2(a); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d) (providing for the automatic 2 substitution of a successor public officer for a predecessor public officer named as a party in an 3 official capacity). A failure to name the proper respondent destroys personal jurisdiction. 4 Stanley v. California Supreme Court, 21 F.3d 359, 360 (9th Cir. 1994); see also Johnson v. 5 Reilly, 349 F.3d 1149, 1153 (9th Cir. 2003) (the warden of the penitentiary where a prisoner is 6 confined constitutes the custodian who must be named in the petition) 7 Petitioner was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison at the time the initial petition was 8 filed. (Doc. No. 1; Doc. No. 5; Doc. No. 29 at 28.) Petitioner named the warden of that 9 institution as respondent. (Doc. No. 29 at 1.) Counsel aver that petitioner now has been 10 transferred to the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, California (“CCI”) and is in 11 the custody of the warden of that institution, Brian Cates. (Doc. No. 47 at 1.) The court takes 12 notice that the official website of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 13 (“CDCR”) reflects: (i) the present warden of CCI is Brian Cates, and (ii) petitioner is presently 14 incarcerated at CCI. Fed. R. Evid. 201; California Department of Corrections and 15 Rehabilitation Inmate Locator, https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/Results.aspx (last visited 16 December 11, 2021). 17 The court’s jurisdiction over this proceeding is unaffected by petitioner’s transfer to CCI. 18 Petitioner claims that in the course of the proceedings resulting in his conviction, he suffered 19 violations of his Constitutional rights. (Doc. No. 41.) The challenged judgment was rendered 20 by the Kern County Superior Court of the State of California, which is located within the 21 territorial jurisdiction of this court. (Doc. No. 41 at 30); 28 U.S.C. §§ 84(b), 2241(a), (d), 22 2254(a); Local Rules for the Eastern District of California, Rule 191(f); see also Francis v. 23 Rison, 894 F.2d 353, 354 (9th Cir.1990) (citing Smith v. Campbell, 450 F.2d 829, 834 (9th 24 Cir.1971)) (“[J]urisdiction attaches on the initial filing for habeas corpus relief, and it is not 25 destroyed by a transfer of the petitioner and the accompanying custodial change.”). 26 ///// 27 ///// 1 Accordingly, petitioner’s motion to substitute Brian Cates, the Warden of the California 2 |Correctional Institution, as respondent in place of Ronald Davis, the Warden of San Quentin 3 State Prison (Doc. No. 47), is granted. The Clerk of the Court is directed to substitute the name 4 |of Warden Brian Cates for Warden Ronald Davis as the named respondent in this action. 5 6 IS SO ORDERED. ~ ‘is 7| Dated: December 20, 2021 LL 1 Yrod UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28