Arenas v. Warden High Desert State Prison

Opinion

Emilio Evalio Arenas, Case No. 2:22-cv-01714-JAD-DJA

Petitioner v. Order Granting Stay and Abeyance

Warden, High Desert State Prison, et al., ECF No. 7-1 Respondents

Petitioner Emilio Arenas filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 to challenge his Nevada state-court conviction for first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon.1 He also asked the court to stay proceedings in this case until his pending state post-conviction proceedings are concluded.2 I ordered respondents to respond Arenas’ request.3 Because respondents state that they do not oppose the request,4 I exercise my discretion to grant a stay and hold proceedings in abeyance until Arenas completes litigation of his state proceedings.5 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that petitioner Arenas’s request to stay proceedings (ECF No. 7-1) is GRANTED. This action is stayed pending completion of Arenas’s pending state post-conviction proceedings. 1 ECF No. 7. 2 ECF No. 7-1. 3 ECF No. 6. 4 ECF No. 9. 5See Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269 (2005); see also Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 416, (2005) (recognizing that a prisoner seeking state post-conviction relief might preserve the timeliness of his federal petition by filing a “protective” federal petition and asking the federal court to stay proceedings). ] IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the stay is conditioned upon Arenas returning to this court with a motion to reopen within 45 days of issuance of the remittitur by the Supreme Court 3 of Nevada at the conclusion of the state court proceedings. The Clerk is directed to ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSE this action. 5 Dated: January 23, 2023 me U.S. District Judge Jenntfer’A. Dorsey 7 8 9 1]