Davis

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RICHARD ALLEN McWHORTER, Case No. 1:20-cv-00215-JLT

Petitioner, DEATH PENALTY CASE

v. ORDER REGARDING REQUEST TO

LODGE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL

OAK SMITH, Warden of California State Prison at San Quentin, 15 Respondent.1

17 I. INTRODUCTION On March 27, 2023, Respondent, through counsel, Supervising Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Sokoler and Deputy Attorney General Brook Bennigson, filed on the public docket a Notice of Request to Lodge Documents under Seal. (Doc. 53). The Notice is associated with Respondent’s Notice of Augmented Lodging and Index of Documents filed that same day (Doc. 52), which includes Penal Code § 987.9 trial court defense funding request materials, sealed in state court, that are part of the state record in this proceeding. (See Doc. 52 at 2-3, citing Kern County Superior Court case number 65352.)

1 Oak Smith, acting warden of San Quentin State Prison since January 2023, is substituted as Respondent in…