Hernandez

ORDER ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

Petitioner Marjorie Hernandez is a prisoner of the State of California. She was convicted of murder in a California state court and is serving a life sentence. In this petition, Hernandez alleges a violation of her constitutional right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury. That allegation is based upon her claim of improper actions and bias of the foreperson of the jury, Mr. Willie Wade.

I.

This petition was originally filed in 1994 in the Central District of California, and was subsequently transferred to this district. In 1996 this court concluded that petitioner had failed to exhaust her state court remedies. This action was therefore stayed pending Hernandez’s exhaustion of her remedies in state court. That was done and this petition then proceeded. Respondent does not question that Hernandez’s state court remedies have been exhausted, and this court finds that plaintiff has adequately exhausted her state remedies in order to proceed with this petition.

Respondent did contend that petitioner’s claim is barred by her delay in filing this petition so long after her conviction in 1985. This court addressed that argument in an…