Raji Kitchen v. George Jaime

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 ) RAJI KITCHEN, ) Case No. CV 18-6514-JEM ) Petitioner, ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER v. ) DISMISSING PETITION AND DENYING ) CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY GEORGE JAIME, ) ) Respondent. ) ) 16 INTRODUCTION On July 19, 2018, Raji Kitchen (“Petitioner”), a prisoner in state custody proceeding pro se, constructively filed 1 a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (“Petition” or “Pet.”). 21 22 Under the prison “mailbox rule,” “a legal document is deemed filed on the date a petitioner delivers it to the prison authorities for filing by mail.” Lott v. Mueller, 304 F.3d 918, 921 (9th Cir. 2002); accord Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988). The “[mailbox] rule applies to prisoners filing habeas petitions in both federal and state courts.” Huizar v. Carey, 273 F.3d 1220, 1223 (9th Cir. 2001) (citation omitted). In the absence of evidence to the contrary,…