Hernandez v. Carpenter

Opinion

1 2 3 4 FILED IN THE 5 U.S. DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Apr 08, 2024 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 8 10 Petitioner, No. 2:24-CV-00009-SAB 11 v. 12 ERIC CARPENTER, ORDER RE: PENDING 13 Defendant. MOTIONS 14 15 Before the Court are Petitioner’s Motion for Reconsideration, ECF No. 8, 16 and Motion for Temporary Release and Motion to Amend Petition, ECF No. 12 17 and Motion to Appoint Counsel, ECF No. 16. Petitioner is a civil detainee at 18 Eastern State Hospital and is representing himself. The State of Washington is 19 represented by Amy Flanigan. 20 On January 10, 2024, Petitioner filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus, ECF No. 1. 21 On February 9, 2024, the Court granted Petitioner’s Application to Proceed In 22 Forma Paueris and directed the State of Washington to respond. ECF No. 6. The 23 State filed its response on March 25, 2024, and it remains pending before this 24 Court. 25 A. Motion for Reconsideration 26 In his Motion, Petitioner clarified that he is not challenging a criminal 27 conviction, rather he is challenging a civil commitment. Because of this, 28 Respondent asks for additional time to allow it to transfer the case to the Social and 1 Health Services Division to respond to the Petition. 2 It does not appear the Court needs to address the motion. Respondent has 3 clarified the confusion and has filed its Response to the Petition. The Court will 4 address Petitioner’s allegations when it rules on his Habeas Petition. 5 B. Motion for Temporary Release and Motion to Amend Petition 6 Petitioner asks the Court to release him from confinement during the 7 pendency of his habeas petition. He states he was assaulted by twenty staff at 8 Eastern State Hospital (ESH) and was assaulted by another patient. 9 At this stage of the proceeding, Petitioner has not shown that extraordinary 10 circumstances or that he has a high probability for success to justify releasing 11 Petitioner from confinement. See Land v. Deeds, 878 F.2d 318, 318 (9th Cir. 1989) 12 (“Bail pending a decision in a habeas case is reserved for extraordinary cases 13 involving special circumstances or a high probability of success.”). 14 Petitioner asks leave of the Court to amend his Habeas Petition to add two 15 claims: (1) failure to receive medical treatment for a back injury; and (2) failure to 16 accommodate his religious practice. These claims do not challenge the validity of 17 his confinement but instead focus on the conditions of his confinement at ESH. As 18 such, the Court declines to permit Petitioner to amend his Petition to add these 19 claims. See Nettles v. Grounds, 830 F.3d 922, 931 (9th Cir. 2016) (“Challenges to 20 the validity of any confinement or to particulars affecting its duration are the 21 province of habeas corpus; requests for relief turning on circumstances of 22 confinement may be presented in a § 1983 action.”). 23 C. Motion for Appointment of Counsel 24 Petitioner asks the Court to appointment of standby counsel. At this stage of 25 the proceeding, Petitioner has not shown the Court should appoint him counsel. 26 The Court has not determined whether an evidentiary hearing is required, and it 27 does not appear this case is so complex that denial of counsel would result in the 28 denial of due process. The Court will revisit this request after it has reviewed the 1|| habeas petition. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 3 1. Petitioner’s Motion for Reconsideration, ECF No 8., is DENIED, as moot. 5 2. Petitioner’s Motion for Temporary Release and Motion to Amend Petition, ECF No. 12, is DENIED. 3. Petitioner’s Motion for Appointment of Counsel, ECF No. 16, is DENIED, with leave to renew. 9 4. Petitioner may file a Reply to his Habeas Petition within thirty (30) days 10|| from the date of this Order. 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. The District Court Clerk is hereby directed to enter Order, provide copies to Plaintiff and counsel. 13 DATED this 8th day of April 2024. 14 15 16 17 byt Secta 19 Stanley A. Bastian 30 Chief United States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

ADKRTD DT. NANI AVATARS 4