Shaw v. Clandenin ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 TIMOTHY SHAW, 11 Case No. 22-cv-06139 BLF (PR) Petitioner, 12 ORDER OF DISMISSAL v. 13 14 STEPHANIE CLANDENIN, 15 Respondent. 16 17 18 Petitioner, a civil detainee proceeding pro se, filed a petition for a writ of habeas 19 corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, alleging constitutional violations in connection with his 20 commitment under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (“SVPA”). Dkt. No. 1. Petitioner 21 has paid the filing fee. Dkt. No. 7. 22 23 BACKGROUND 24 According to the petition, Petitioner was convicted of California Penal Code § 25 288(b) in 1992. Dkt. No. 1 at 3. Following completion of his sentence, the Superior Court 26 of Lake County found probable cause to hold Petitioner pending civil commitment 27 proceedings. Id. The civil commitment trial was held on April 7, 2011, and concluded 1 Coalinga State Mental Hospital. Id. at 2. 2 Petitioner filed the instant federal habeas petition on October 11, 2022. 3 4 DISCUSSION 5 I. Standard of Review 6 This court may entertain a petition for a writ of habeas corpus “in behalf of a person 7 in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. 8 § 2254(a). 9 10 It shall “award the writ or issue an order directing the respondent to show cause 11 why the writ should not be granted, unless it appears from the application that the applicant 12 or person detained is not entitled thereto.” Id. § 2243. 13 II. Analysis 14 Petitioner claims that his right to procedural due process was violated because he 15 was experiencing severe side effects of his psychotropic medication at the civil 16 commitment hearing “that rendered him cognitively impaired to the point of 17 incompetence.” Dkt. No. 1 at 7. He was therefore prevented from being able to in any 18 reasonable manner to process what transpiring in court, to assist counsel, or otherwise 19 participate in the trial. Id. Petitioner states that he has since regained his competency. Id. 20 at 4. 21 States may enact statutes that provide for the “forcible civil detainment of people 22 who are unable to control their behavior and who thereby pose a danger to the public 23 health and safety.” Kansas v. Hendricks, 521 U.S. 346, 357 (1997). The constitutionality 24 of state civil commitment proceedings may be challenged in federal habeas corpus once 25 state remedies have been exhausted. See Nelson v. Sandritter, 351 F.2d 284, 285 (9th Cir. 26 1 || proceedings either the fact or length of their confinement are first required to exhaust state 2 || judicial remedies, either on direct appeal or through collateral proceedings, by presenting 3 || the highest state court available with a fair opportunity to rule on the merits of each and 4 || every claim they seek to raise in federal court. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b), (c); Rose v. 5 || Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 515-16 (1982). The state’s highest court must be given an 6 || opportunity to rule on the claims even if review is discretionary. See O'Sullivan v. 7 || Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 845 (1999) (petitioner must invoke “one complete round of the 8 || State’s established appellate review process.”). 9 Here, Petitioner states that he did not exhaust his state court remedies because the 10 || California Supreme Court previously denied similar claims based on due process. Dkt. 11 || No. 1 at 2. Nevertheless, Petitioner is still required to exhaust state judicial remedies 2 before bringing this federal action. See Nelson, 351 F.2d at 285. It is clear from the E 13 || petition that Petitioner failed to do so. It is therefore subject to dismissal on that basis. See S 14 || Rose, 455 U.S. at 522. 16 CONCLUSION 5 17 For the foregoing reasons, the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DISMISSED for 5 18 failure to exhaust state remedies. See Rose, 455 U.S. at 510. The dismissal is without 19 || prejudice to Petitioner refiling once he has exhausted state judicial remedies, i.e., the state 20 || supreme court issues a decision denying relief. 21 IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 || Dated: — March 28,2023. fuinfhacnan 73 BETH LABSON FREEMAN United States District Judge 24 25 26 PRO-SEBLFHC2206 139Shaw_dism(exh) 27