Lance Williams v. R. Farley

I.

INTRODUCTION

On November 2, 2020, Lance Williams (“Williams”), an inmate at Deuel Vocational Institution, constructively filed1 a pro se Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Petition”) purporting to challenge his April 15, 2020 disciplinary hearing that resulted in “30 days loss of credit,” “4 classification points added,” and “denied parole.” ECF Docket No. (“Dkt.”) 1 at 1. Williams sets forth two claims in his Petition: (1) Correctional Officer R. Farley (“Farley”) violated Williams’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by filing a retaliatory Rules Violation Report (“RVR”), id. at 5; and 2) the RVR was in violation of Williams’ First Amendment and “due process” rights because it was improperly labeled as serious, id. at 15.

The Petition, however, appears subject to dismissal for (1) failure to name a proper respondent and (2) failure to state a cognizable habeas claim. The Court will not make a final determination regarding whether the Petition should be dismissed without giving Williams an opportunity to address these issues.

///

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