Derrick Hill v. California

I.

INTRODUCTION

On October 12, 2020, Derrick Hill (“Hill”), who is currently confined at Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison (“SATF-CSP”) in Corcoran, California, constructively filed1 a pro se Petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. See ECF Docket No. (“Dkt.”) 1, Pet. Hill challenges his 2017 convictions in Los Angeles Superior Court for “aggravated mayhem,” “torture,” “injuring spouse/cohabitant,” and “great bodily injury.” Id. at 2. The Petition sets forth two grounds for habeas relief: (1) improper use of a prior conviction as impeachment evidence (“Claim One”) and (2) violation of the Confrontation Clause for failure to call the complaining witness to testify (“Claim Two”). Id. at 5–6.

The Petition, however, appears subject to dismissal because (1) the Petition fails to name a proper respondent and (2) Hill has not exhausted his state remedies with respect to Claim Two. The Court will not make a final determination regarding whether the Petition should be dismissed, however, without giving Hill an opportunity to address this issue.

Under the “mailbox rule,” when a pro se prisoner gives prison authorities a pleading to mail to court, the Court…