Calderon

OVERVIEW

Arthur Calderon, warden of the California State Prison at San Quentin, and Daniel Lun-gren, attorney general of California, (hereinafter “the State”) petition for writ of mandamus and move to stay the district court’s orders relating to the availability of investigative and expert funds under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. § 848 (q)(9), for death row inmate Patrick Bruce Gordon, the real party in interest. The State requests that we exercise our supervisory mandamus authority to prohibit the district court from approving federal funds for Gordon under section 848(q)(9), where the funds would be used to investigate unexhausted claims that must be pursued in state court before they may be included in the federal habeas petition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 .

We hold that the district court could properly consider a request for funds under 21 U.S.C. § 848 (q)(9) even though no habeas *-826 petition was pending after November 15, 1994. Because the district court properly dismissed the mixed habeas petition on November 15, we find moot the State’s contention that the earlier stay of the habeas proceedings precluded the district court from…