Opinion
S076999
02-17-2016
PEOPLE v. SOUZA (MATTHEW ARIC)
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.