Opinion
CASE NO. 06-CV-15092.
October 31, 2007
ORDER GRANTING PETITIONER'S MOTION TO VOLUNTARILY DISMISS WITHOUT PREJUDICE THE PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
This matter is before the Court on Petitioner's motion to voluntarily dismiss his petition for writ of habeas corpus so that he may fully exhaust his state court remedies. Petitioner states that he has a motion for relief from judgment pending in the state trial court (filed on March 13, 2007) which contains additional claims that he may wish to pursue in a federal habeas action if he is unsuccessful in obtaining relief in the Michigan courts. The Court previously denied Petitioner's motion to hold the case in abeyance pending exhaustion of additional, unidentified claims. Given that Petitioner has a matter pending in state court and given that the time during which his habeas case has been pending before this Court is equitably tolled, see Johnson v. Warren, 344 F. Supp. 2d 1081, 1088-89 (E.D. Mich. 2004), the Court finds that dismissal of the present petition is appropriate.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Petitioner's motion for voluntary dismissal is GRANTED and the petition for writ of habeas corpus is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. This case is closed. Should Petitioner wish to seek federal habeas relief following the exhaustion of his state court remedies, he must file a new habeas petition in federal court within the time remaining on the one-year statute of limitations.