Shawn Demetrius Jones v. Jennifer Clauy

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin orders Shawn Demetrius Jones to show cause why his habeas petition should not be dismissed for failure to exhaust state court remedies. The court also identifies the Wisconsin Court of Appeals’ dismissal of Jones’s appeal for noncompliance with court rules as a potential adequate and independent state-law ground barring relief. Jones is given 28 days to respond, and the respondent may file a response thereafter.

Holdings

1. The petition was not properly before the court because Jones acknowledged that he had not exhausted his state-court remedies, and he had not shown that an exception to the exhaustion requirement applied.
2. The court afforded Jones 28 days to show cause why the petition should not be dismissed and to demonstrate that an exception to the exhaustion doctrine excused his failure to seek review in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the § 2254 petition should be dismissed or otherwise rejected because Jones failed to exhaust available state-court remedies.
2. Whether Jones should be given an opportunity to show that an exception excuses his failure to present his claims to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
3. Whether the dismissal of Jones's state appeal for failure to comply with court rules may constitute an adequate and independent state-law ground barring federal habeas relief.

Disposition

other