Martinez v. Tomes
- Paul Davison
- 7:19-cv-07651-KMK-PED
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Martinez v. Superintendent of Sing Sing, Judge Davison ordered Martinez to explain within 30 days why his stayed federal habeas petition should not be dismissed.
Miguel Martinez and the Superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility; Martinez must respond to the show-cause order within 30 days.
What happened
In Miguel Martinez v. Superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility, the court had paused Martinez’s federal petition while he pursued a state-court motion. The state court denied that motion, and Martinez did not ask for permission to appeal within the allowed time.
The court said Martinez had not followed its earlier instructions to report the state-court outcome and ask within 30 days to reopen the federal case. It ordered him to explain within 30 days whether he wants the stay lifted and his federal petition considered; the court did not dismiss the petition in this order.
Judge Paul E. Davison also ordered the clerk to substitute the Superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility as the respondent because Martinez was then incarcerated there and to amend the case caption.
The detailed version
- Martinez v. Tomes · No. 7:19-cv-07651-KMK-PED
- Paul Davison
- Sept. 30, 2022
Background
The court had stayed Miguel Martinez’s federal petition on September 9, 2020, while Martinez pursued a motion under New York Criminal Procedure Law § 440.10 in the state trial court. The earlier order required Martinez, after that motion was resolved, to ask within 30 days to lift the stay and reopen the federal case. It also warned that failure to report the motion’s resolution could lead to a recommendation that the petition be dismissed without prejudice. The court further directed Martinez to prepare and file an amended petition containing all claims, including claims raised in the state-court motion.
The state court denied Martinez’s § 440.10 motion on September 24, 2021. Martinez did not request permission to appeal that denial to the Appellate Division, Second Department within the 30-day period identified by the court. The state motion therefore was no longer pending. After asking the parties for an update in June 2022, the court found that Martinez had not complied with the conditions of the stay because more than 30 days had passed after the deadline to seek permission to appeal.
Order
The court did not dismiss the federal petition in this order. Instead, it ordered Martinez to show cause—meaning to explain—why dismissal should not occur. Martinez must respond within 30 days and must state whether he wants the court to lift the stay and consider his federal habeas petition. The court noted that it could cancel the stay retroactively and recommend dismissal if Martinez failed to comply.
The court also stated that Martinez had been incarcerated at Five Points Correctional Facility when he filed the petition and was then incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. It ordered the Superintendent of Sing Sing Correctional Facility substituted as respondent under Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and directed the clerk to amend the caption.
Classification basis
This is a procedural order because it addresses compliance with a stay and whether the case should proceed; it does not decide the substance of Martinez’s federal habeas claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.