David Betancourt Gomez v. Noem

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA DAVID BETANCOURT GOMEZ, No. 1:25-cv-1866 DC AC 12 Petitioner, 13 v. ORDER NOEM, 15 Respondents.

17 Petitioner, an immigration detainee who is representing themself, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 together with an application to proceed in forma pauperis. Examination of the in forma pauperis application reveals that petitioner is unable to afford the costs of suit. Accordingly, the application to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).

22 The court has conducted a preliminary review of the petition pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Habeas Corpus Cases Under Section 2254.1 In light of the complexity of the legal issues involved and the duration of petitioner’s detention, the court has determined that the interests of justice require the appointment of counsel for petitioner. See 18 U.S.C. 1 Rule 1(b) of the Rules Governing Habeas Corpus Cases Under Section 2254 allows a district court to apply any or all of the rules to other types of habeas corpus petitions including § 2241 petitions.

1 § 3006A(a)(2)(B); see also Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983).

2 Because petitioner may be entitled to the requested relief if the claimed violation of constitutional rights is proved, respondent will be served with the § 2241 petition and directed to show cause why the writ should not be granted by filing an answer/return. See 28 U.S.C. § 2243.

5 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 6 1. Petitioner’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is GRANTED and petitioner is authorized to proceed in forma pauperis without prepayment of the filing fee in this action.

9 2. The Federal Defender is appointed to represent petitioner.

10 3. The Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this order on the Federal Defender, Attention: Habeas Appointment.

12 4. Within seven days of this order, the appointing authority for the Eastern District of California shall identify counsel and send counsel’s contact information to the undersigned’s courtroom deputy Jonathan Anderson at [email protected], and counsel will be added as counsel for petitioner.

16 5. If counsel is not a member of the Eastern District of California Criminal Justice Act Panel, within seven days of this Order the Federal Defender shall file a motion to appoint counsel as CJA counsel pro hac vice.

19 6. Additionally, the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this order together with a copy of petitioner’s application for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on the United States Attorney.

22 7. Respondent is directed to file an answer/return within 14 days from the date of this order. If an answer/return is filed, respondent shall include with the answer/return any and all transcripts or other documents relevant to the determination of the issues presented in the application.

26 8. Respondent shall immediately request and obtain petitioner’s complete A-file and provide a copy to petitioner’s counsel upon receipt.

28 9. Petitioner’s reply/traverse, if any, is due within 7 days of being served a copy of || respondent’s answer/return or 7 days after counsel’s appearance, whichever is later.

2 10. In order to ensure this court’s jurisdiction to resolve the pending § 2241 petition, || respondent shall not transfer petitioner outside of this judicial district, pending further order of the | court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a) (establishing the All Writs Act which empowers the federal || courts to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of their respective jurisdictions □ □ . .”); || see also F.T.C. v. Dean Foods Co., 384 U.S. 597, 604 (1966) (emphasizing that federal courts || have the power to “to preserve the court’s jurisdiction or maintain the status quo by injunction | pending review of an agency’s action”’).

9 | DATED: December 22, 2025 ~ 10 ththienr—Chnp—e_ ALLISON CLAIRE 11 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE