Juan Enrique Lopez v. California Supreme Court

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

JUAN ENRIQUE LOPEZ, CASE NO. 2:21-cv-09636-MCS (SK)

Petitioner, ORDER DISMISSING ACTION

FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

v.

CALIFORNIA SUPREME

COURT,

Respondent.

Petitioner is a California state prisoner serving a life sentence for murder and carjacking. On December 13, 2021, he filed a standalone motion for a 30-day extension of time to file a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which caused the Clerk’s Office to open this action. (ECF 1). But without the filing of an underlying habeas petition, the Court has no “case or controversy” to decide. Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. 740, 745-46 (1998). Thus, it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this habeas action. See, e.g., Casaburi v. Warden, 2013 WL 3367275, at *1 (C.D. Cal. July 3, 2013) (dismissing habeas action for lack of jurisdiction where petitioner filed only a letter requesting more time to file a petition later). The Court also lacks personal jurisdiction because Petitioner has incorrectly named the “California Supreme Court” as respondent. The proper respondent to a federal habeas petition is the person with custody over the petitioner,…