Jones v. Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino

Background

Michael Anthony Jones filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on February 11, 2025. The court notified him that the case was deficient because he had not paid the filing fee or submitted an application to proceed without paying the fee.

Procedural Issues

The court gave Jones 28 days to correct the filing-fee problem. The deadline passed without payment or an application. Separately, mail sent to Jones was returned as undeliverable. Jones did not provide the court with his current address or contact the court for more than three months.

Because Jones was proceeding without a lawyer, Northern District of California Civil Local Rule 3-11 required him to promptly file and serve a notice of any address change. The rule permits dismissal without prejudice when court mail is returned as undeliverable and the court does not receive a written communication with a current address within 60 days. The court also cited a Ninth Circuit decision affirming dismissal under this rule.

Ruling

Judge Noél Wise dismissed the matter without prejudice to Jones filing a motion to reopen the action. The court required any motion to reopen to include either the filing fee or a complete application to proceed without paying the fee, as well as notice of Jones’s current address. The clerk was directed to close the file. The order did not decide the substance of Jones’s petition.