Zambrana-Aleman v. Superior Court of San Francisco County
- Edward Davila
- 5:23-cv-01617
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Zambrana-Aleman v. Superior Court, Judge Davila dismissed the federal petition without prejudice for failure to exhaust state remedies and denied two motions.
The order dismissed Dixon Zambrana-Aleman’s federal petition without prejudice, leaving him able to refile after exhausting state remedies. It also required him to pay the filing fee and denied appointed counsel as moot.
What happened
In Zambrana-Aleman v. Superior Court, Dixon Zambrana-Aleman challenged his state conviction through a federal petition. He had been found guilty of several charges involving forcible lewd and sexual acts on a minor and sentenced to 28 years in state prison.
The court dismissed the petition without prejudice because he had not presented his claims to the California Supreme Court. This means he may file a new federal petition after exhausting available state remedies.
Judge Edward J. Davila denied Zambrana-Aleman’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee because the court found he could pay it. The judge denied his request for appointed counsel as moot.
The detailed version
- Zambrana-Aleman v. Superior Court of San Francisco County · No. 5:23-cv-01617
- Edward Davila
- July 10, 2023
Background
Dixon Zambrana-Aleman, a state prisoner representing himself, filed a federal petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his state conviction. A jury in San Francisco County Superior Court found him guilty of several charges involving forcible lewd and sexual acts on a minor. He was sentenced on October 23, 2020, to 28 years in state prison.
The petition stated that Zambrana-Aleman had not sought review of the claims in the California Supreme Court. He also filed a motion to proceed without paying the filing fee and a motion requesting appointment of counsel.
Court’s analysis
The court explained that a state prisoner must first present each federal claim to the highest available state court before seeking federal review of the fact or length of confinement. This requirement is called exhaustion of state remedies. Because Zambrana-Aleman had not presented the claims in his petition to the California Supreme Court, the court found that the petition was not ready for federal review.
Rulings
The court dismissed the petition for failure to exhaust state remedies. The dismissal was without prejudice to refiling after state judicial remedies have been exhausted for any legally cognizable claims. The court therefore did not decide whether the conviction or the underlying claims were legally valid.
The court denied the motion to proceed without paying the filing fee for lack of indigency. It relied on an inmate financial statement showing a balance of $1,681.81 and stated that Zambrana-Aleman could pay the $5.00 filing fee. The court also denied the request for appointment of counsel as moot. Judge Edward J. Davila ordered the case closed as to those motions.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.