Ronald Robinson v. Ralph M. Diaz

I. INTRODUCTION

On November 19, 2019, Ronald Robinson (“Petitioner”) filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“Petition”). [Dkt. No. 1]. Petitioner asserts (1) retaliation by prison staff for appealing an unsatisfactory work evaluation and (2) due process violations when prison staff issued the work evaluation depicting Petitioner’s performance as “sub-par”. [Id. at 5]. For the reasons set forth below, the Petition appears subject to dismissal for failure to name a proper respondent and failure to state a cognizable claim for habeas relief. The Court will not make a final determination regarding whether the Petition should be dismissed, however, without giving Petitioner an opportunity to address these issues.

II. SCREENING REQUIREMENT

Under Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, this court is required to conduct a preliminary review of all petitions for writ of habeas corpus filed by state prisoners. Pursuant to Rule 4, this court must summarily dismiss a petition if it “plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district…