Opinion
C22-1864 BHS
06-27-2023
ENCARNACION SALAS IV, Petitioner, v. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent.
ORDER
BENJAMIN H. SETTLE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Magistrate Judge Theresa L. Fricke's Report and Recommendation (R&R), Dkt. 7, recommending the Court deny pro se petitioner Encarnacion Salas's 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition for failure to exhaust his state court remedies, specifically by failing to appeal his conviction to the state's highest court, the Washington Supreme Court. Dkt. 7 at 2. Salas objects, arguing that he appealed to the Washington Court of Appeals, which “goes through” the Superior Court. Dkt. 8.
The R&R correctly concluded that, to properly exhaust his federal claims, a would-be habeas petitioner must finish “one complete round of the State's established appellate review process,” up to the highest state court with powers of discretionary review. Dkt. 7 at 2 (citing O'Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 845 (1999)). A federal court must dismiss a federal habeas corpus petition if its claims are unexhausted. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 731 (1991).
Salas's claims are unexhausted, and the R&R is ADOPTED. His amended § 2254 petition, Dkt. 6, is DISMISSED without prejudice. The Court will not issue a certificate of appealability.
The Clerk shall enter a JUDGMENT and close the case.
IT IS SO ORDERED.