Milner v. Napa County Superior Court

Background

Erik Randall Milner, proceeding without an attorney, filed a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus seeking immediate relief from custody. According to the petition, he was sentenced on November 26, 2024, to the Napa County Department of Corrections for leaving the scene of an accident, domestic violence, and delaying a peace officer arrest.

Milner stated that he had appealed his conviction to the California Court of Appeal and that the appeal was still pending when he filed the federal petition. He answered “NO” to the petition’s question about whether he had appealed to the California Supreme Court. The petition also referred to a state-court habeas petition raising newly discovered evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel, due process violations, retaliation for filing legal actions, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Reasoning

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, a federal court may grant habeas relief to a state prisoner only for custody that violates the United States Constitution, federal laws, or treaties. Before seeking that relief, the prisoner must exhaust state judicial remedies by giving the highest available state court a fair opportunity to decide every issue later presented in federal court.

The court applied Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, which permits summary dismissal when the petition and its attachments show that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in federal court. The court determined that Milner’s pending state appeal and his statement that he had not appealed to the California Supreme Court showed that he had not exhausted his state remedies when he filed the federal petition. The court therefore did not reach the merits of his claims.

Disposition

The petition was DISMISSED without prejudice to refiling after available state judicial remedies are exhausted. The clerk was directed to enter judgment and close the file. The order was issued by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley.