Opinion
24-3150-JWL
09-10-2024
BRYCE EUGENE WILKINS, SR., Petitioner, v. STATE OF KANSAS, Respondent.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
JOHN W. LUNGSTRUM UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter is a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 by Petitioner Bryce Eugene Wilkins, Sr., who seeks to challenge the conviction and sentence imposed upon him after a February 2022 jury trial in Shawnee County, Kansas. (Doc. 1, p. 1); see also State v. Wilkins, 2024 WL 748626, *1-2 (Kan.Ct.App. Feb. 23, 2024) (unpublished). When the Court first reviewed the petition, it required additional information from Petitioner regarding his custody status. (See Doc. 3.) Petitioner has now provided that information and asks the Court for guidance on how to proceed. (Doc. 4.) Based on the information now before the Court, which explains that Petitioner is currently released on bond and is under supervision by state-court officers, the Court is satisfied that Petitioner is “in custody” and that this Court has jurisdiction over this matter.
As explained in the Court's previous order, when a state prisoner seeking federal habeas relief is in custody but not incarcerated, the proper Respondents to a § 2254 petition are “the particular probation or parole officer responsible for supervising the applicant, and the official in charge of the parole or probation agency, or the state correctional agency, as appropriate.” (See Doc. 3, p. 2-3.) Petitioner agrees that Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda is a proper Respondent in this action and also informs the Court that his current release is supervised by Shawnee County Court Services Probation Officers Mary Kelly Herman and Laura Morrison. (Doc. 4, p. 2-3.)
The Court therefore orders that Mr. Zmuda, Ms. Herman, and Ms. Morrison are hereby substituted as Respondents pursuant to Rule 2(a) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts and Rules 25 and 81(a)(4) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court will direct the clerk to substitute the proper Respondents in this matter; Petitioner need not take any further action on this point.
Rule 4 of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases requires the Court to review a habeas petition upon filing and to dismiss it “[i]f it plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.” Rules Governing § 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts, Rule 4, 28 U.S.C.A. foll. § 2254. The Court has begun the Rule 4 review of the petition in this matter and it appears that the document filed contemporaneously with the petition, which is titled-and was therefore docketed as a-“Motion for New Trial,” (Doc. 2) was intended to be a memorandum in support of the petition for federal habeas relief. (See Doc. 1, p. 7-8 (referring the Court to an “attached memorandum” for additional supporting facts).) The Court will therefore direct the clerk to alter the docket to designate this filing (Doc. 2) as a memorandum in support of the petition, rather than a motion for new trial. The Court assures Petitioner that in its Rule 4 review of this matter, it will treat this document as a memorandum in support of the petition and will consider all of the information therein.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda and Shawnee County Court Services Probation Officers Mary Kelly Herman and Laura Morrison are substituted as Respondents in this matter. The clerk is also directed to alter the docket to reflect that Doc. 2 is a memorandum in support of the petition, rather than a motion for new trial that is pending before this Court. The Court will conduct the required Rule 4 review of the petition and will issue further orders as necessary. Petitioner need take no further action at this time.
IT IS SO ORDERED.