Opinion
No. 12-17071 D.C. No. 1:12-cv-01164-LJO
03-10-2014
WILLIE COOLEY, Petitioner - Appellant, v. C. WOFFORD, Respondent - Appellee.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MEMORANDUM
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Gary S. Austin, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Before: PREGERSON, LEAVY, and MURGUIA, Circuit Judges.
California state prisoner Willie Cooley appeals pro se from the district court's judgment dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253, and we vacate and remand.
In his order dismissing with prejudice Cooley's habeas petition, the magistrate judge incorrectly stated that Cooley had consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Because the record reflects that Cooley expressly declined to give such consent, the magistrate judge lacked authority to issue a final order dismissing with prejudice Cooley's habeas petition. See 28 U.S.C. § 636; Fed. R. Civ. P. 72. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment and remand for further proceedings.
In light of this disposition, we do not reach Cooley's contentions regarding the merits of his habeas petition.
VACATED and REMANDED.