Jackson v. Houk, No. 4:2007cv00880 - Document 61 (N.D. Ohio 2017)

Court Description: Opinion & Order signed by Judge James S. Gwin on 11/20/17. IMPORTANT: The Court orders petitioner to file a proposed amended § 2254 petition by 1/31/18 for the reasons set forth in this order. (Related Docs. 57 and 59 ) (D,MA)

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Jackson v. Houk Doc. 61 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO ------------------------------------------------------: NATHANIEL JACKSON, : : Petitioner, : : vs. : : MARC HOUK, Warden, : : Respondent. : : ------------------------------------------------------- CASE NO. 4:07-CV-880 OPINION & ORDER [Resolving Docs. No. 57, 59] JAMES S. GWIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE: Nearly a decade ago, the Court stayed this death penalty habeas corpus petition so that Petitioner Nathaniel Jackson could exhaust his state court remedies. Now, Jackson has finally exhausted his state court remedies and seeks to amend his federal habeas corpus petition to reflect claims that arose during the last ten years of state court proceedings.1 He has not, however, submitted a proposed amended habeas petition for the Court to consider. On April 18, 2008, this Court stayed Petitioner Nathaniel Jackson’s § 2254 habeas corpus petition challenging his state court conviction and his death penalty.2 The Court did this so that Jackson could exhaust his state court remedies based on arguable judicial misconduct in his original sentencing.3 At that original sentencing, the Ohio sentencing judge asked the prosecutor for assistance with drafting the death penalty opinion without giving Jackson’s attorney notice. Since that time, Jackson’s sentence has been overturned and re-imposed, and the re-imposition of that sentence has been appealed through all levels of the Ohio courts.4 1 Doc. 57. The Warden opposes. Doc. 58. Petitioner Jackson moves to supplement. Doc. 59. The Warden opposes that motion. Doc. 60. 2 See Doc. 33. 3 Id. at 1-2. 4 See generally Appellant Nathaniel Jackson’s App. For Reopening Pursuant to S. Ct. Prac. R. 11.06, State of Ohio v. Nathaniel Jackson, 2012-1644 (Ohio 2017). Dockets.Justia.com Case No. 4:07CV880 Gwin, J. Now, Jackson seeks to amend his federal habeas corpus petition to reflect the claims that have arisen since the Court originally granted a stay.5 Jackson’s current motion for leave to amend, however, is deficient. Although Jackson states that he seeks to amend his petition “to reflect the changes that have taken place in State court,”6 he did not file a proposed amended petition reflecting those changes. After a decade of substantive litigation in the Ohio courts, even the Warden expects an amended petition in this Court.7 But without a proposed amendment, neither the Warden nor the Court can evaluate whether “justice [ ] requires” granting leave to amend.8 The Court therefore ORDERS Petitioner Jackson to file a proposed amended § 2254 petition by January 31, 2018. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: November 20, 2017 5 s/ James S. Gwin JAMES S. GWIN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE See Doc. 57. Id. at 2. 7 See Doc. 58 at 2. 8 See Roskam Baking Co., Inc. v. Lanham Machinery Co., Inc., 288 F.3d 895, 906 (6th Cir. 2002) (“[T]he district court must be able to determine whether ‘justice so requires,’ and in order to do this, the court must have before it the substance of the proposed amendment.”). -26

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