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Morgan v. Houser

United States District Court, District of Alaska
Feb 8, 2022
4:21-cv-00031-SLG (D. Alaska Feb. 8, 2022)

Opinion

4:21-cv-00031-SLG

02-08-2022

DANIEL OREN MORGAN, Petitioner, v. EARL L. HOUSER, Respondent.


ORDER OF DISMISSAL

SHARON L. GLEASON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.

At Docket 1, Daniel Oren Morgan, a self-represented prisoner, filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C § 2241. Mr. Morgan alleges that as a state prisoner he was (1) extradited to Alaska from Oregon without proper procedural due process; (2) denied counsel upon his arrest; and (3) that Alaska lacks jurisdiction over him for failing to follow extradition protocols.

Docket 1 at 6-7.

The Court takes judicial notice of Mr. Morgan's state court criminal case in State of Alaska v. Daniel Oren Morgan, Case No. 4FA-15-02090CR. Specifically, the record in that case reflects that a final judgment of conviction was entered in that case by the Alaska Superior Court after a sentencing hearing on May 11, 2021.

Judicial notice is the “court's acceptance, for purposes of convenience and without requiring a party's proof, of a well-known and indisputable fact; the court's power to accept such a fact.” Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019); see also Headwaters Inc. v. U.S. Forest Service, 399 F.3d 1047, 1051 n.3 (9th Cir. 2005) (“Materials from a proceeding in another tribunal are appropriate for judicial notice.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

State of Alaska v. Daniel Oren Morgan, Case No. 4FA-15-02090CR (“Events: 05/11/2021 Sentencing Hearing, Hearing Held” & docket entry dated 05/1/2021 “Charge Disposition: Defendant Convicted on Charge[.] For sentencing information, see Judgment in the case file.”).

SCREENING REQUIREMENT

28 U.S.C. § 2241 provides federal courts with general habeas corpus jurisdiction. A court must “promptly examine” a habeas petition. “If it plainly appears from the motion, any attached exhibits, and the record of prior proceedings that the moving party is not entitled to relief, the judge must dismiss the motion.” Upon screening, it plainly appears that Mr. Morgan is not entitled to habeas relief pursuant to § 2241, and his petition must be dismissed.

See Magana-Pizano v. INS, 200 F.3d 603, 608 & n.4 (9th Cir. 1999).

Rule 4(b), Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings for the United States District Courts. (The same procedural rules for 28 U.S.C. § 2254 govern 28 U.S.C. § 2241, Local Habeas Corpus Rule 1.1(c)(2)).

Id.

DISCUSSION

A writ of habeas corpus allows an individual to test the legality of being detained or held in custody by the government. The writ “is a vital ‘instrument for the protection of individual liberty' against government power.” Under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a district court may grant a writ of habeas corpus to a prisoner “in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.” However, this Court's “authority to grant habeas relief to state prisoners is limited by [28 U.S.C.] § 2254, which specifies the conditions under which such relief may be granted to ‘a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court.'”Among the requirements of § 2254 is the directive that a post-conviction state prisoner must exhaust all available state court remedies prior to seeking habeas relief from a federal court.

Rasul v. Bush, 542 U.S. 466, 474 (2004).

Gage v. Chappell, 793 F.3d 1159, 1168 (9th Cir. 2015); quoting Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723, 743 (2008).

Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 650, 662 (1996).

Mr. Morgan was sentenced by the state court on May 11, 20121. As such, he is no longer a pre-trial detainee and a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 is no longer proper. Mr. Morgan may pursue a direct appeal to the Alaska Court of Appeals and Alaska Supreme Court. If his direct state appeals do not grant relief, Mr. Morgan may pursue post-conviction relief from the Alaska Superior Court. And appeal any adverse determination to the Alaska Court of Appeals and the Alaska Supreme Court. After exhausting all available state remedies, he may file a petition for habeas corpus with this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 is the proper avenue for a convicted state prisoner to challenge his conviction based on alleged constitutional violations in federal court.

In Alaska, a criminal defendant may request discretionary review by the Alaska Supreme Court. See Alaska Statutes §§ 22.05.010, 22.07.020, and 22.07.030; Alaska Rules of Appellate Procedure 215, 301, and 302.

See O'Sullivan v. Boerkel, 526 U.S. 828, 845; see Alaska Criminal Rule 35.1.

28 U.S.C. § 2254(c); Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 365 (1995) (per curium); Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 29 (2004).

For the foregoing reasons, Mr. Morgan's Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 is not procedurally proper at this time, because Mr. Morgan is no longer a pre-trial detainee but is instead in custody pursuant to a state court conviction. Therefore, Mr. Morgan's petition must be dismissed.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:

1. The Petition at Docket 1 is DISMISSED without prejudice.
2. All pending motions are DENIED.
3. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter a Final Judgment in this case.
4. A Certificate of Appealability shall not issue.

28 U.S.C. §§ 2255(d), 2253(c)(2). See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000) (certificate of appealability may be granted only if applicant made a “substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, ” i.e., a showing that “reasonable jurists could debate whether . . . the petition should have been resolved in a different manner or that the issues presented were adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further” (internal quotations and citations omitted)).


Summaries of

Morgan v. Houser

United States District Court, District of Alaska
Feb 8, 2022
4:21-cv-00031-SLG (D. Alaska Feb. 8, 2022)
Case details for

Morgan v. Houser

Case Details

Full title:DANIEL OREN MORGAN, Petitioner, v. EARL L. HOUSER, Respondent.

Court:United States District Court, District of Alaska

Date published: Feb 8, 2022

Citations

4:21-cv-00031-SLG (D. Alaska Feb. 8, 2022)