Hernandez v. Carpenter

Opinion

1 2 FILED IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT 3 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON Jun 13, 2024 4 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 5 8 10 Petitioner, No. 2:24-CV-00009-SAB 11 v. 12 ERIC CARPENTER, ORDER DISMISSING HABEAS 13 Respondent. PETITION 14 15 Petitioner Bryan Paul Hernandez, a civil detainee at the Eastern State 16 Hospital (“ESH”), filed a pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in 17 State Custody pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 on January 10, 2023. ECF No. 1. 18 The Court reviewed the Petition and concluded the only habeas claim 19 properly before it was Petitioner’s assertion that he was denied the effective 20 assistance of trial counsel. ECF No. 6. In his Petition, Petitioner claims that:

21 I asked my attorney for an independent expert. She refused to do so. I 22 asked for a hearing she said no. I then asked to be present, she also said no. I then tried to fire her, she said no. 23 Petitioner is asking for discharge from Eastern State Hospital and 24 appointment of counsel. 25 Service was ordered and the State of Washington filed its response. ECF No. 26 19. The State of Washington is represented by Amy Flanigan. 27 // 28 1 Background Facts 2 The following facts are taken from the state’s Response to Motions for 3 Temporary Release and to Amend Petition, ECF No. 15:

4 Between October 2019 and January 2021, Petitioner assaulted his 5 mother and started a fire in their apartment culminating in a standoff with law enforcement, assaulted two healthcare providers, and assaulted 6 jail staff. Benton County charged Petitioner with multiple felonies as a 7 result. Initially, evaluators opined that Petitioner was competent to proceed to trial in those matters, but in 2022 evaluators came to the 8 opposite conclusion. Attempts at competency restoration proved 9 unsuccessful, and in May 2023, Benton County dismissed Petitioner’s criminal charges and ordered Eastern State Hospital (ESH) to evaluate 10 him for civil commitment. 11 Medical professionals at ESH diagnosed Petitioner with Autism 12 Spectrum Disorder, Intermittent Explosiveness Disorder, and 13 Unspecified Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Features. His symptoms include pressured and disjointed speech, elevated mood, delusional 14 thought content, hallucinations, mood lability, poor insight/judgment, 15 disorganized behavior, fixation on conflict with his father and perceived violations of his rights, making false allegations, exhibiting extreme 16 agitation, yelling and punching walls, and threatening assaults of peers 17 and staff. He required two to one staff monitoring due to his emotional lability and aggressive, assaultive behavior. ESH had to call the 18 psychiatric emergency response team on numerous occasions because of 19 Petitioner’s behavior. He has a long history of assaultive incidents.

20 On June 5, 2023, ESH petitioned for up to 180 days of involuntary 21 treatment, alleging Petitioner Mr. Hernandez was (1) gravely disabled, and (2) had been determined to be incompetent and criminal charges had 22 been dismissed, had committed acts constituting a felony, and, as a 23 result of a behavioral health disorder, presented a substantial likelihood of repeating similar acts. Rather than proceed to hearing, Petitioner, 24 through counsel on July 26, 2023, stipulated to the petition and the court 25 ordered 180 days of involuntary treatment.

26 Petitioner’s appeal of the July order is pending before Division III of the 27 Washington State Court of Appeals.

28 1 On January 4, 2024, ESH filed a new petition for an additional 180 days of involuntary treatment, alleging that Petitioner remained gravely 2 disabled and presented a substantial likelihood of repeating acts similar 3 to his dismissed felonies. 4 Petitioner continued to make threats, attempted to bite or kick staff, 5 displayed poor judgment and impulsivity, acted agitated and 6 uncooperative, and possessed poor insight into his mental illness. In December 2023, he assaulted a nurse and continued to require two to 7 one staff monitoring due to his assaultive behavior. 8 The record shows that an Order of Continuance, dated February 26, 9 2024 was entered in Spokane County Superior Court. The court ordered that 10 Petitioner remain at ESH until the April 8, 2024 hearing or further order from 11 the Court. 12 Petitioner was appointed appellate counsel by the Washington Court of 13 Appeals on January 18, 2024. 14 Analysis 15 Petitioner is challenging the legality of his confinement at ESH. 16 However, it appears that the direct appeal of the confinement order is still 17 pending with the Washington Court of Appeals. As such, his claim is not ripe 18 for review. 19 Before a federal court can address the merits of a § 2254 claim, a 20 petitioner must have exhausted all available state court remedies, as required 21 by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1): 22

23 An application for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court shall not be granted 24 unless it appears that— 25 (A) the applicant has exhausted the remedies available in the courts of the State; or 26 (B)(i) there is an absence of available State corrective 27 process; or (ii) circumstances exist that render such process ineffective 28 I to protect the rights of the applicant.

3 See also Coleman, 501 U.S. 722, 731 (1991) (“This Court has long held that a state prisoner’s federal habeas petition should be dismissed if the prisoner has g|| not exhausted available state remedies as to any of his federal claims.”’). Petitioner’s failure to exhaust his state remedies serves as a bar to his habeas petition. 8 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 9 1. Petitioner’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State 10 Custody pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, ECF No. 1, is DISMISSED. 11 2. All pending motions are DENIED, as moot. 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. The District Court Clerk is hereby directed to enter 3 this Order, provide copies to Plaintiff and counsel, and close the file. 14 DATED this 13th day of June 2024. 15 16 17 ‘ Sfraleyld Eee Yoar 19 Stanley A. Bastian 20 Chief United States District Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 ORDER DISMISSING HABEAS PETITION ~ 4