Israel v. Ndoh
- Phyllis Hamilton
- 4:20-cv-04347
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Israel v. Ndoh, Judge Hamilton dismissed Max Lee Israel’s habeas petition as successive without Ninth Circuit authorization and denied a certificate of appealability.
Max Lee Israel’s amended federal habeas petition was dismissed because he had not shown authorization from the Ninth Circuit to file a second or successive petition; the court also denied a certificate of appealability.
What happened
In Israel v. Ndoh, Max Lee Israel, a California prisoner representing himself, filed a federal petition challenging his 2005 conviction. The court had previously denied petitions concerning that conviction and a later resentencing for it.
The court determined that the amended petition was a second or successive petition. Israel had not shown that the Ninth Circuit authorized him to file it, as required before a successive petition may proceed in the district court. The court therefore dismissed the petition, while stating that Israel could refile if he received that authorization.
Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton denied a certificate of appealability and directed the clerk to close the case. The order was entered on August 17, 2020.
The detailed version
- Israel v. Ndoh · No. 4:20-cv-04347
- Phyllis Hamilton
- Aug. 17, 2020
Background
Max Lee Israel, a California prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a federal writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The court had dismissed his original petition with permission to amend so he could explain why the petition was not a second or successive petition. Israel then filed an amended petition concerning his 2005 conviction.
The opinion states that the court had previously denied a habeas petition concerning the same conviction and had also denied a petition concerning a 2013 resentencing for that conviction. Those earlier proceedings made the amended petition subject to the rules governing second or successive petitions.
Court’s Analysis
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b), a claim in a second or successive state-prisoner habeas petition generally must be dismissed unless it falls within specified exceptions involving a new, retroactive constitutional rule or newly discoverable facts meeting a demanding standard. In addition, before filing a permitted successive petition in the district court, the petitioner must obtain authorization from the appropriate court of appeals.
The court found that Israel had not shown that the Ninth Circuit had authorized him to proceed. The opinion therefore did not decide the underlying claims concerning his conviction; it dismissed the petition for failure to satisfy the successive-petition authorization requirement.
Ruling
Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton ordered that the petition be DISMISSED. The court stated that Israel could refile if he received permission from the Ninth Circuit. The court also DENIED a certificate of appealability and directed the clerk to close the action.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.