Anderson v. Brightenbuck ( 2024 )

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 6 BLAKE L. ANDERSON, Case No. 3:24-cv-00430-ART-CLB 7 Petitioner, ORDER 8 v. 9 NETHANJAH BREIGHTENBACH, et al., 10 Respondents. 11 12 13 In compliance with the court’s prior order (ECF No. 5), petitioner, Blake L. 14 Anderson, has paid the filing fee for his petition for a writ of habeas corpus 15 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. ECF No. 6. So, the Clerk of Court will be ordered 16 to docket the petition (ECF No. 1-1) and Anderson’s motion for appointment of 17 counsel (ECF No. 1-2). The court has reviewed Anderson’s petition under Rule 4 18 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts 19 and finds that it merits service upon the respondents. 20 The court has also considered Anderson’s motion for appointment of 21 counsel. Whenever the court determines that the interests of justice so require, 22 counsel may be appointed to any financially eligible person who is seeking 23 habeas corpus relief. 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B). Appointment in the interests of 24 justice is appropriate when the issues are complex, and the penalty is severe. 25 See Chaney v. Lewis, 801 F.2d 1191, 1196 (9th Cir. 1986). Anderson stands 26 convicted of kidnapping, multiple counts of sexual assault and battery, and 27 other related charges. He is serving several life sentences and will not be eligible 28 for parole until 2041. The Nevada Supreme Court’s order affirming his direct 1 appeal suggests his case involves complex claims that would require the 2 assistance of counsel to articulate.1 In addition, there appears to be an issue 3 regarding the timeliness of Anderson’s petition. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d). For 4 these reasons, the court will grant Anderson’s motion for appointment of 5 counsel. 6 The court anticipates that, with counsel, Anderson will likely file an 7 amended petition. Thus, respondents are not required respond to Anderson’s 8 initial petition. 9 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Clerk of Court detach and file 10 Anderson’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus (ECF 1-1) and motion for 11 appointment of counsel (ECF No. 1-2). 12 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk add Aaron D. Ford, Nevada 13 Attorney General, as counsel for respondents and provide respondents an 14 electronic copy of all items previously filed in this case by regenerating the 15 Notice of Electronic Filing to the office of the AG only. 16 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Anderson’s motion for appointment of 17 counsel is GRANTED. 18 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Federal Public Defender for the 19 District of Nevada (FPD) is appointed to represent Anderson. 20 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk ELECTRONICALLY SERVE 21 the FPD a copy of this order, together with a copy of the petition for writ of 22 habeas corpus (ECF Nos. 1-1). The FPD has 30 days from the date of entry of 23 this order to file a notice of appearance or to indicate to the court its inability to 24 represent Anderson in these proceedings. 25 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that after counsel has appeared for Anderson 26 27 1 While the order is not included with Anderson’s petition, the court takes judicial notice of the order available online. 28 https://caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us/public/caseView.do?csIID=56539 1 || in this case, the court will issue a scheduling order, which will, among other 2 || things, set a deadline for the filing of an amended petition. 3 4 Dated this 18 day of November, 2024. 5 6 Ars losed Jer 7 ANNE R. TRAUM 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28