Jose Gerardo Meza Linares v. Warden of the Golden State Annex Detention...

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA JOSE GERARDO MEZA LINARES, No. 1:26-cv-00047-TLN-EFB 11 Petitioner, 12 v. ORDER WARDEN OF THE GOLDEN STATE ANNEX DETENTION FACILITY, et al., Respondents.

Petitioner Jose Gerardo Meza Linares (“Petitioner”), an immigration detainee who is representing himself, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241.

Based on the substance of Petitioner’s brief and the relief requested therein, the Court construes Petitioner’s pleading as containing a motion for a temporary restraining order. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 (1976) (stating that pleadings by pro se litigants must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers).

Respondents shall file a response to Petitioner’s request for injunctive relief on January 9, 2026. Any opposition shall provide the Court with copies of all referenced/relevant portions of Petitioner’s A-File and any and all available records related to Petitioner’s allegations (ECF No. 1), including copies of all orders of release and all detention orders.

Pending the Court’s ruling on this petition, Respondents shall not take any action to transfer Petitioner out of this District. See F.T.C. v. Dean Foods Co., 384 U.S. 597, 608 (1966) (acknowledging the Court’s “express authority under the All Writs Act to issue such temporary injunctions as may be necessary to protect its own jurisdiction”).

3 Petitioner’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914.

4 Petitioner has also filed a motion for the appointment of counsel. In light of the complexity of the legal issues involved, the Court has determined that the interests of justice require the appointment of counsel for Petitioner. See 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B); see also Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Within seven days from the date of this Order, the appointing authority for the Eastern District of California shall identify counsel and send counsel’s contact information to Michele Krueger, Courtroom Deputy for Chief Judge Troy Nunley, via email at [email protected], who shall update the docket to reflect counsel’s appointment. If counsel is not a member of the Eastern District of California Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) Panel, the Court hereby authorizes them to serve as CJA counsel for petitioner for the duration of the proceedings in this Court pursuant to Local Rule 180(b)(1).

14 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 15 1. Respondents shall file a response to Petitioner’s request for immediate injunctive 16 relief, including relevant portions of his A-file as stated above, by January 9, 2026; 17 2. In order to ensure this Court’s jurisdiction to resolve the pending § 2241 petition, 18 Respondents shall not transfer Petitioner to another detention center outside of this 19 judicial district, pending further order of the Court; 20 3. Petitioner’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is granted; 21 4. Petitioner’s motion for appointment of counsel (ECF No. 3) is granted; Within seven 22 days from the date of this Order, the appointing authority for the Eastern District of 23 California shall identify counsel and send counsel’s contact information to Michele 24 Krueger, Courtroom Deputy for Chief Judge Troy Nunley, who shall update the 25 docket to reflect counsel’s appointment; 26 5. The Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order on the Federal Defender, 27 Attention: Habeas Appointment, along with a copy of the § 2241 petition; and 28 6. The Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this Order together with a copy of 1 Petitioner’s application for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on 2 the United States Attorney.

3 IT IS SO ORDERED.

4 | Date: January 6, 2026 ZL 6 TROY L. NUNLEY 7 CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE