Butler v. Vannoy ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA CORNELL D. BUTLER CIVIL ACTION VERSUS NO. 19-12004 SECTION “M”(4) DARRELL VANNOY, WARDEN O R D E R The Court, having considered the complaint, the record, the applicable law, the Report and Recommendation of the Chief United States Magistrate Judge,1 and the petitioner’s objections to the Report and Recommendation,2 hereby approves the Report and Recommendation and adopts it as its opinion in this matter. Petitioner Cornell D. Butler filed objections to the Report and Recommendation in which he stated that he objects “without presently articulating reasons” and wished to “preserve his right to articulate with specific reasons (if necessary) for objecting to the Magistrate[’]s [Report and Recommendation].”3 The Court cannot analyze the validity of unarticulated objections. Butler’s filing was his opportunity to specify his objections, and the Court will not give him another opportunity to do so. Further, Butler seeks a stay of this proceeding to allow him to exhaust in the state court a claim of actual innocence based on evidence that he alleges he discovered on February 3, 2020.4 The Supreme Court has not recognized a free-standing actual innocence claim to support habeas relief. McQuiggin v. Perkins, 569 U.S. 383, 392 (2013). Rather, a proper showing of actual innocence can overcome a procedural default or the bar on successive habeas petitions. Id. 1 R. Doc. 14. 2 R. Doc. 15. 3 Id. at 2-3. 4 Id. at 4. Thus, Butler’s new actual innocence claim that he says he intends to pursue in the state court would not be cognizable on its own, but rather, would act as a ground for him to seek leave to file a successive federal habeas petition. Thus, a stay would be improper, and Butler’s request is DENIED. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that Cornell D. Butler’s petition for issuance of a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 is DENIED and DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. New Orleans, Louisiana, this 12th day of February, 2020. ____________________________________ BARRY W. ASHE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE