Black v. Kern Valley State Prison
- Beth Freeman
- 5:21-cv-03386
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
Randy Black v. KVSP was dismissed as a mixed habeas petition after no response, Judge Freeman ruled.
Randy Black’s federal petition challenging his state conviction was dismissed; the case was closed, and any pending motions were terminated.
What happened
In Randy Black v. KVSP, Randy Black, a California state prisoner representing himself, challenged his state conviction in a petition filed under federal law.
The court found that the petition included both claims that had been presented to the state courts and one claim that had not. It gave Black options to remove the unpresented claim or ask to pause the case, but he did not respond after receiving a final opportunity.
The petition was dismissed as a mixed petition, and the court ordered the clerk to end pending motions and close the case. Judge Beth Labson Freeman signed the order.
The detailed version
- Black v. Kern Valley State Prison · No. 5:21-cv-03386
- Beth Freeman
- Dec. 16, 2021
Background
Randy Black, a California state prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his state conviction from San Francisco Superior Court.
Court’s analysis
The court previously screened the petition and determined that it was a “mixed petition,” meaning it contained both claims that had been exhausted through the state courts and claims that had not been exhausted. The court identified three cognizable and exhausted claims and directed Black either to strike the unexhausted claim and proceed with the three exhausted claims or to file a motion asking for a stay that met the requirements described in the court’s order.
Mail sent to Black was later returned marked “Inmate Refused.” The court then gave him one final opportunity to respond and warned that failing to respond on time would result in dismissal of the petition as a mixed petition. More than two months passed without any further communication from Black.
Disposition
The court dismissed the petition as a mixed petition. It also directed the clerk to terminate any pending motions and close the case. The order did not decide the merits of Black’s challenge to his conviction. Judge Beth Labson Freeman signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.