Martin v. Breitenbach ( 2024 )

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 3 WILLIAM MARTIN, Case No.: 3:24-cv-00235-ART-CLB 4 Petitioner, Order Directing Service of Petition and Granting Motion for Counsel 5 v. 6 NETHANJAH BREITENBACH, et al., 7 Respondents. 8 William Martin has submitted a pro se 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for a 9 writ of habeas corpus. (ECF No. 1-1.) The Court has reviewed the petition 10 pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Habeas Corpus Cases Under 11 Section 2254 and directs that it be served on Respondents. 12 A petition for federal habeas corpus should include all claims for relief of 13 which petitioner is aware. If Petitioner fails to include such a claim in his 14 petition, he may be forever barred from seeking federal habeas relief upon that 15 claim. See 28 U.S.C. §2244(b) (successive petitions). If Petitioner is aware of 16 any claim not included in his petition, he should notify the court of that as 17 soon as possible, perhaps by means of a motion to amend his petition to add 18 the claim. 19 Martin has also submitted a motion for appointment of counsel. (ECF No. 20 1-2.) There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel in a federal habeas 21 corpus proceeding. Luna v. Kernan, 784 F.3d 640, 642 (9th Cir. 2015) 22 (citing Lawrence v. Florida, 549 U.S. 327, 336–37 (2007)). Whenever the court 23 1 determines that the interests of justice so require, counsel may be appointed to 2 any financially eligible person who is seeking habeas corpus relief. 18 U.S.C. § 3 3006A(a)(2)(B). “[T]he district court must evaluate the likelihood of success on 4 the merits as well as the ability of the petitioner to articulate his claims pro se 5 in light of the complexity of the legal issues involved.” Weygandt v. Look, 718 6 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Here, Martin seeks to challenge his convictions, 7 pursuant to a guilty plea, of two counts of burglary. He appears to state at least 8 some claims cognizable in federal habeas corpus. He alleges that he suffers 9 from severe physical and mental health issues. In order to ensure due process, 10 the Court grants Martin’s motion for counsel. 11 It is therefore ordered that the Clerk of Court detach, file, and 12 electronically SERVE the petition (ECF No. 1-1) on the Respondents. 13 It is further ordered that the Clerk add Aaron D. Ford, Nevada Attorney 14 General, as counsel for Respondents and provide Respondents an electronic 15 copy of all items previously filed in this case by regenerating the Notice of 16 Electronic Filing to the office of the AG only. 17 It is further ordered that the Clerk detach and file the motion for 18 appointment of counsel (ECF No. 1-2). 19 It is further ordered that Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel 20 is GRANTED. 21 It is further ordered that the Federal Public Defender for the District of 22 Nevada (“FPD”) is appointed to represent Petitioner. 23 1 It is further ordered that the Clerk electronically serve the FPD a copy of 2||this order, together with a copy of the petition for writ of habeas corpus (ECF 1-1). The FPD has 30 days from the date of entry of this order to file a notice of appearance or to indicate to the Court its inability to represent 5|| Petitioner in these proceedings. 6 It is further ordered that after counsel has appeared for Petitioner in this 7||case, the Court will issue a scheduling order, which will, among other things, 8||set a deadline for the filing of an amended petition. 9 10 11 DATED THIS 22"4 day of July 2024. 12 i dun 18 ree Vowted deem 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23