Opinion
S076999
02-17-2016
Counsel appointment order filed
Upon request of condemned inmate Matthew Aric Souza for appointment of counsel, Marylou Hillberg is hereby appointed to represent Matthew Aric Souza for habeas corpus/executive clemency proceedings related to the above automatic appeal now final in this court.
Any “petition for a writ of habeas corpus will be presumed to be filed without substantial delay if it is filed . . . within 36 months” of this date (Supreme Ct. Policies Regarding Cases Arising From Judgments of Death, policy 3, timeliness std. 1-1.1), and it will be presumed that any successive petition filed within that period is justified or excused (see In re Clark (1993) 5 Cal.4th 750, 774-782), in light of this court's delay in appointing habeas corpus/executive clemency counsel on behalf of condemned inmate Matthew Aric Souza.