Sheffield v. State of Nevada

Opinion

6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

7 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

8 * * *

9 TRAVIS SHEFFIELD, Case No. 2:22-cv-00584-GMN-NJK

10 Petitioner, Order Granting Motion for Leave to File v. Second-Amended Petition (ECF No. 15) 11 STATE OF NEVADA, et al., 12 Respondents. 13 14 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petitioner Travis Sheffield has filed a motion for 15 leave to file a second-amended petition. (ECF No. 15.) Respondents filed a non- 16 opposition. (ECF No. 18.) The motion is granted. 17 Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2), a party may amend a pleading 18 with the court’s leave. “The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” 19 Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Rule 15 reflects a “policy of favoring amendments to 20 pleadings,” and courts should apply that policy “with ‘extreme liberality.’” United States 21 v. Webb, 655 F.2d 977, 979 (9th Cir. 1981) (quoting Rosenberg Brothers & Co. v. 22 Arnold, 283 F.2d 406, 406 (9th Cir. 1960)). When a court evaluates a request for leave 23 to amend, a court may consider bad faith, undue delay, previous amendments on the 24 part of the petitioner, potential prejudice to the opposing party, and whether amendment 25 is futile. In re Morris, 363 F.3d 891, 894 (9th Cir. 2004). 26 Here, the Federal Public Defender (FPD), counsel for Sheffield, explains that he 27 filed a protective first-amended petition without having time to fully research and investigate the claims. (ECF No. 15 at 3.) Respondents do not oppose leave to file a 1 second-amended petition, though their lack of objection is not to be construed as a 2 concession of the alleged merits or of any available defenses. (ECF No. 18.) 3 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that petitioner’s motion for leave to file a second- 4 amended petition (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED. The deadline to file the second- 5 amended petition is December 6, 2022. 6

7 DATED: 5 October 2022.

8 GLORIA M. NAVARRO 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27