Swierski v. Lizarraga
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:16-cv-03199
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Swierski v. Koenig, Judge Gilliam granted in part and denied in part Swierski’s request to extend the deadline for appealing and seeking permission to appeal.
Gary D. Swierski, whose deadline to file a notice of appeal and request a certificate of appealability was extended to January 11, 2021.
What happened
In Swierski v. Koenig, the prisoner asked for more time to file a notice of appeal and request permission to appeal the denial of his habeas petition. He requested an extension until February 8, 2021, citing delayed receipt of the court’s orders and limited law-library access because of holiday and COVID-19 restrictions.
The court found good cause and granted in part and denied in part the request. It extended the deadline to January 11, 2021, for filing the notice of appeal and the request for a certificate of appealability, rather than the requested February 8 date. The court stated that the rules did not allow any further extension.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. issued the December 3, 2020 order, which terminated the motion docketed as No. 58. The order addressed only the filing deadline and did not reconsider the earlier denial of the habeas petition.
The detailed version
- Swierski v. Lizarraga · No. 4:16-cv-03199
- Haywood Gilliam
- Dec. 3, 2020
Background
Gary D. Swierski, a prisoner representing himself, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his custody. On November 11, 2020, the court denied the petition, denied a certificate of appealability, and entered judgment for Craig Koenig. A certificate of appealability is the court’s permission for a habeas petitioner to appeal.
Request for More Time
On November 23, 2020, Swierski asked for an extension until February 8, 2021, to file a notice of appeal and request a certificate of appealability. He stated that the court mailed the denial order and judgment on November 18 and that he did not receive them until November 20. He also cited limited law-library access during the holidays and COVID-19 restrictions, as well as a significant COVID-19 outbreak at his prison.
Ruling
The court found that Swierski had shown good cause and had requested an extension before the applicable 30-day period expired. The order granted in part and denied in part the request, extending the deadline to January 11, 2021, to file the notice of appeal and request for a certificate of appealability. The court stated that the federal appellate rules prohibited any further extension. The order terminated Docket No. 58.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.