Moore v. Howell

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided March 9, 2020·No. 2:18-cv-02345·Unknown

Opinion

3 4 Evan Eugene Moore, Case No. 2:18-cv-02345-JAD-BNW 5 Petitioner v. Order Granting in Part Motion to 6 Dismiss and Directing Petitioner to Jerry Howell,et al., Elect How to Proceed with Mixed 7 Petition Respondents 8 [ECF No. 9] 9 Nevada state inmate Evan Eugene Moorebrings his pro sepetition for writ of habeas 10 corpus under 28 U.S.C. §2254 to challenge his conviction and sentence for first-degree murder.1 11 Respondents move to dismiss fourof his eight grounds as unexhausted and non-cognizable for 12 federal habeas relief.2 Mooredid not oppose the motion,and the deadline to do so expired 13 without request for extension.3 Having considered the motion on its merits, I grant the motionin 14 part, finding that grounds 7 and part of ground 1 are unexhausted and dismissingground 2as 15 non-cognizable. This makes Moore’s petition a mixed one. I therefore instruct Mooreto choose 16 one of three options for proceeding in this caseby April 9, 2020. 17 Background 18 A. Moore’s trial and direct appeal 19 Moore was convicted in 2008of first-degree murder with use of a fire arm.4 The Second 20 Judicial District Court for Washoe County, Nevada,sentenced him to life imprisonment with a 21 minimum paroleeligibility of 20 years plus an equal and consecutive term for the deadly weapon 22 23 1 ECF No.6. 24 2 ECF No.9. 3 LR 7-2 of the Local Rules of Civil Practice provides that a failure to file points and authorities 25 in opposition to a motion constitutes a consent that the motion be granted. LR 7-2(d); cf. Ghazali v. Moran, 46 F.3d 52, 53 (9th Cir. 1995) (failure to follow the district court’s local rules 26 is a proper ground for dismissal). Pursuant to the Local Rules, any response to respondents’ motion was to be filed by June 20, 2019. See LR 7-2(b). Although no response was filed, Iwill 27 address the merits of the motion to ensure a complete record. 28 4 Ex. 52 (ECF No.10-52). 1 enhancement, and enteredajudgment of conviction on April 25, 2008. Mooreappealed. The 2 Nevada Supreme Court affirmed his conviction on February 25, 2010.6 3 B. Moore’s post-conviction proceedings and appeal 4 Moorefiled apro sestate petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking post-conviction relief 5 on June 4, 2010.7 The state court appointed counsel, held an evidentiary hearing, and denied 6 Moore’s post-conviction claims.8 Moorefiled a post-conviction appeal. The Nevada Court of 7 Appeals affirmed the state court’s denial of relief,9 andremittitur issued onNovember 6, 2018.10 8 C. Moore’s federal habeas action 9 Mooreinitiated this pro se federal habeas corpus proceeding in December 2018.11 His 10 federal petition alleges eightgrounds for relief under the United States Constitution.12 11 Respondents moved to dismiss grounds 1, 2, 6, and 7 as either non-cognizable in federal habeas 12 or unexhaustedin June 2019.13 Moore neither filed a response nor moved to extend his deadline 13 to do so. I now consider the merits of respondents’motion to dismiss. 14 Discussion 15 A. Two of Moore’s claims are unexhausted or partially unexhausted. 16 State prisoners seeking federal habeas relief must exhaust the remedies available in the 17 state courts unless “there is an absence of available State corrective process” or “circumstances 18 19 20 5 Id. 6 Ex. 101 (ECF No.11-1). 21 7 Ex. 110 (ECF No.11-10). Once the state petition was fully briefed, Moore’s post-conviction 22 proceeding stalled for more than four years without a decision. Ex. 139 (ECF No.11-39). The state court ultimately dismissed Moore’s state petition under the Nevada Rules of Civil 23 Procedure for failure to bring the case to trial within five years. Id. The Nevada Supreme Court reversed the state court’s judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings. Id. 24 8 Ex. 145 (ECF Nos.11-45); Ex. 158 (ECF No.11-58); Ex. 161 (ECF No.11-61). 25 9 Ex. 181 (ECF No.11-81). 10 Ex. 186 (ECF No.11-86). 26 11 ECF No.1. 27 12 ECF No.6. 28 13 ECF No. 9. 1 exist that render such process ineffective to protect the rights of the applicant.” The purpose of 2 the exhaustion rule is to give the state courts a full and fair opportunity to resolve federal 3 constitutional claims before those claims are presented to the federal court, and to “protect the 4 state courts’ role in the enforcement of federal law.”15 A claim remains unexhausted until the 5 petitioner has given the highest available state court the opportunity to consider the claim 6 through direct appeal or state collateral review proceedings.16 7 A habeas petitioner must “present the state courts with the same claim he urges upon the 8 federal court.”17 The federal constitutional implications of a claim, not just issues of state law, 9 must have been raised in the state court to achieve exhaustion.18 To achieve exhaustion, the state 10 court must be “alerted to the fact that the prisoner [is] asserting claims under the United States 11 Constitution” and given the opportunity to correct alleged violations of the prisoner’s federal 12 rights.19 It is well settled that 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b) “provides a simple and clear instruction to 13 potential litigants: before you bring any claims to federal court, be sure that you first have taken 14 each one to state court.”20 “[G]eneral appeals to broad constitutional principles, such as due 15 process, equal protection, and the right to a fair trial, are insufficient to establish exhaustion.”21 16 However, citing to state caselaw that applies federal constitutional principles will suffice.22 17 A claim is not exhausted unless the petitioner has presented to the state court the same 18 19 20 14 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1). 15 Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 518 (1982); O’Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 844 (1999); 21 see also Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 365 (1995). 22 16 See Casey v. Moore, 386 F.3d 896, 916 (9th Cir. 2004); Garrison v. McCarthey, 653 F.2d 374, 376 (9th Cir. 1981). 23 17 Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 276 (1971). 24 18 Ybarra v. Sumner, 678 F. Supp. 1480, 1481 (D. Nev. 1988) (citing Picard, 404 U.S. at 276)). 19 Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 365 (1995); see Hiivala v. Wood, 195 F.3d 1098, 1106 (9th 25 Cir. 1999). 26 20 Jiminez v. Rice, 276 F.3d 478, 481 (9th Cir. 2001) (quoting Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 520 (1982)). 27 21 Hiivala v. Wood, 195 F.3d 1098, 1106 (9th Cir. 1999) (citations omitted). 28 22 Peterson v. Lampert, 319 F.3d 1153, 1158 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). 1 operative facts and legal theory upon which his federal habeas claim is based.

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