(HC) Chance v. De La Cruz

Opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 LESLIE JENEA CHANCE, Case No. 1:24-cv-00709-JLT-SAB-HC

12 Petitioner, ORDER LIFTING STAY

13 v. ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO FILE LODGED PETITION (ECF NO. 33) 14 A. DE LA CRUZ, AS SECOND AMENDED PETITION

15 Respondent. ORDER SETTING BRIEFING SCHEDULE

16 17 Petitioner is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of habeas corpus 18 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 19 On August 29, 2025, the Court denied Respondent’s motion to dismiss and allowed 20 Petitioner to proceed with the procedure set forth in Kelly v. Small, 315 F.3d 1063 (9th Cir. 21 2002). (ECF No. 20.) On September 24, 2025, Petitioner filed a first amended petition (“FAP”) 22 containing only exhausted claims. (ECF No. 21.) On September 25, 2025, the Court stayed the 23 instant proceedings pending exhaustion of state remedies and ordered Petitioner to file a status 24 report within thirty days and every ninety days thereafter. (ECF No. 22.) The Court also ordered 25 that within thirty days following the final order of the state courts, Petitioner must file an 26 amended petition including all exhausted claims. (Id.) 27 On June 25, 2026, Petitioner lodged an amended petition asserting four claims for relief, including the previously unexhausted Ground Four. (ECF No. 33.) 1 Accordingly, the Court HEREBY ORDERS that: 2 1. The stay in this matter is LIFTED; 3 2. The Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to file the lodged petition (ECF No. 33) as the Second 4 Amended Petition; 5 3. Within SIXTY (60) days of the date of service of this order, Respondent SHALL FILE a 6 RESPONSE to the Second Amended Petition (“SAP”). See Rule 4, Rules Governing 7 Section 2254 Cases; Cluchette v. Rushen, 770 F.2d 1469, 1473–74 (9th Cir. 1985) (court 8 has discretion to fix time for filing a response). A Response can be made by filing one of 9 the following: 10 A. AN ANSWER addressing the merits of the SAP. Any argument by Respondent 11 that Petitioner has procedurally defaulted a claim SHALL BE MADE in the 12 ANSWER, but must also address the merits of the claim asserted. 13 B. A MOTION TO DISMISS the SAP. 14 4. Within SIXTY (60) days of the date of service of this order, Respondent SHALL FILE 15 any and all transcripts or other documents necessary for the resolution of the issues 16 presented in the SAP. See Rule 5(c), Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases. The 17 transcripts or other documents shall only be filed electronically and, to the extent 18 practicable, provided in Optical Character Recognition (“OCR”) format. 19 Respondent shall not file a hard copy of the transcripts or other documents unless 20 so ordered by this Court. 21 5. If Respondent files an Answer to the SAP, Petitioner MAY FILE a Traverse within 22 THIRTY (30) days of the date Respondent’s Answer is filed with the Court. If no 23 Traverse is filed, the SAP and Answer are deemed submitted at the expiration of the 24 thirty days. 25 6. If Respondent files a Motion to Dismiss, Petitioner SHALL FILE an Opposition or 26 Statement of Non-Opposition within TWENTY-ONE (21) days of the date of service of 27 Respondent’s Motion. Any Reply to an Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss SHALL be ] All motions shall be submitted on the record and briefs filed without oral argument unless 2 | otherwise ordered by the Court. Local Rule 230(1). Extensions of time will only be granted upon 3 | a showing of good cause. All provisions of Local Rule 110 are applicable to this order. 4 *rtsso onneneD DFA (Be 6 | Dated: _ July 6, 2026 : STANLEY A. BOONE 7 United States Magistrate Judge 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28