IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA MISSOULA DIVISION RONALD ALAN HUMMEL, Cause No. CV 25-11-M-DMW Plaintiff, VS. ORDER STATE OF MONTANA and FLATHEAD COUNTY DISTRICT COURT, . Defendants.

Plaintiff Ronald Alan Hummel filed a

Complaint related to his current conviction and incarceration. (Doc. 2.) The filing is more appropriately characterized as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The Complaint will be dismissed. Hummel’s Complaint is entirely related to what he characterizes as a wrongful conviction. “Habeas is the exclusive vehicle for claims brought by state prisoners that fall within the core of habeas, and such claims may not be brought in

a § 1983 action.” Nettles v. Grounds,

(9th Cir. 2016). A prisoner in state custody cannot use a § 1983 action to challenge “the fact or duration of his confinement” and must seek federal habeas corpus relief (or appropriate state

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relief) instead. Wilkinson v. Dotson,

(2005). Hummel’s Complaint will be dismissed, and he may file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Based upon the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED that: 1. The Clerk of Court is directed to close this case. All pending motions

are DENIED. Pe The Clerk of Court is directed to provide Hummel with the Court’s form for a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and a form to proceed in forma pauperis on that petition.

DATED this HW day of January, 2025. ; —, : N i] [\XV A Ddnald W. Molldy, District Judge United/States District Court