Guillory v. San Mateo County

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed Andrew Samuel Guillory’s pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 because he had not exhausted available state court remedies. The dismissal was without prejudice to refiling after exhaustion. The court granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis and denied a certificate of appealability.

Holdings

1. A state prisoner must present each federal habeas claim to the highest available state court before seeking federal relief, absent an absence of available state corrective process or circumstances rendering that process ineffective. Because Guillory stated that he had not sought review in the California Supreme Court, the petition was dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust state remedies.
2. A certificate of appealability was denied.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the § 2254 petition should be dismissed because Guillory had not exhausted available state-court remedies.
2. Whether a certificate of appealability should issue.

Disposition

dismissed