Uhuru v. Burton

Background

Kohen Diallo Uhuru, an inmate at California Medical Facility, filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus—a request for federal court relief from allegedly unlawful custody—without a lawyer. The petition challenged his attempted-murder conviction in Alameda County Superior Court Case No. H23602 and the related 12-year sentence.

The court explained that Uhuru had previously filed a petition challenging the same conviction and sentence. That earlier petition was dismissed because Uhuru was not in custody under the Alameda County sentence. The sentence was imposed in 2000 and would have expired around 2012. The court stated that Uhuru’s current incarceration instead resulted from a guilty plea in San Diego County Superior Court Case No. SCD123050, for which he received a sentence of 25 years to life. Even a successful challenge to the Alameda County sentence would not entitle him to release from his current custody.

Court’s Analysis

The court ruled that it lacked federal habeas jurisdiction because a person must be in custody under the state judgment being challenged. It also ruled that the petition was “second or successive” under 28 U.S.C. § 2244 because it challenged the same state-court judgment as the earlier petition, and the claims could have been raised earlier. The court said the claims did not rely on a new, retroactive constitutional rule or newly discovered facts.

The petition raised challenges involving the alleged vagueness of California Penal Code § 1170, restitution under California Penal Code § 12024(f)(3)(F), double jeopardy and discrimination protections, ineffective assistance of counsel, and the prosecution’s alleged failure to disclose or explain evidence related to civil commitment. The court did not reach the merits of those claims.

A person filing a second or successive federal habeas petition must first obtain authorization from the appropriate federal appeals court. The court found that Uhuru had not shown that he received that authorization.

Ruling

Judge Jon S. Tigar ordered that the petition be dismissed for lack of federal habeas jurisdiction, as second or successive, and for failure to obtain the required appeals-court authorization. The court denied a certificate of appealability, granted Uhuru’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee, denied all pending motions as moot, entered judgment for the respondent, and closed the case. The opinion does not state that the dismissal was with or without prejudice.