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3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 DISTRICT OF NEVADA 5 NICHOLAS WILCOX, Case No. 3:23-cv-00397-ART-CSD 6 Petitioner, ORDER 7 v.

8 THE STATE OF NEVADA, et al.,

9 Respondents.

10 11 Nicholas Wilcox, a Nevada Prisoner, has submitted a pleading styled as a 12 “motion to vacate judgment and/or correct an illegal sentence” (ECF No. 1-1) 13 and filed an application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 3). With 14 his motion, Wilcox claims that the State of Nevada lacked jurisdiction to impose 15 the sentence he is currently serving. For reasons explained below, this case will 16 be dismissed without prejudice. 17 First, a petition for writ of habeas corpus is the exclusive remedy in 18 federal court to challenge a state court conviction. Nettles v. Grounds,

922, 933 (9th Cir. 2016). To present a cognizable federal habeas corpus claim, a 20 state prisoner must allege that the state court violated his federal constitutional 21 rights or the laws of the United States.

(a); see Reed v. Farley, 22

(1994). Thus, to obtain the relief he seeks, Wilcox must bring 23 a habeas action under

alleging that his state court conviction 24 violates federal law. 25 In addition, a state prisoner seeking relief under § 2254 “must give the 26 state courts one full opportunity to resolve any constitutional issues by 27 invoking one complete round of the State's established appellate review 28 process.” O'Sullivan v. Boerckel,

(1999). Here, Wilcox filed a 1 motion to correct an illegal sentence in state district court, making essentially 2 the same argument he makes in his pleading in this case, and unsuccessfully 3 appealed the court’s order denying the motion. See Wilcox v. State,

3324985 (Nev. App., May 8, 2023). It does not appear that he has presented any 5 federal law claims to the state courts by way of a direct appeal of his judgment 6 of conviction or a state post-conviction petition.1 7 If Wilcox wants to bring a habeas action under § 2254, he must do so on 8 the form provided by this court. LSR 3-1, Local Rules of Practice, U.S. District 9 Court of Nevada. He is advised that this court will not be able to grant habeas 10 relief unless he has first exhausted available state court remedies for his federal 11 claims. In addition, the state district court’s online docket indicates that 12 Wilcox’s judgment of conviction was entered on March 9, 2018, but he did not 13 file his motion to correct his sentence until October 13, 2022. Thus, it is likely 14 that the one-year statutory time period for filing a federal habeas petition has 15 long since expired. See

(d). If Wilcox believes he can overcome 16 these impediments, he may file a “protective” habeas petition and ask this court 17 to stay and abey the federal habeas proceedings until state remedies are 18 exhausted. See Pace v. DiGuglielmo,

(2005). 19 It is therefore ordered that this action is dismissed without prejudice. The 20 Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment accordingly and close this case. 21 It is further ordered that no certificate of appealability shall issue as 22 reasonable jurists would not find this decision to be debatable or wrong. 23 It is further ordered that Wilcox’s application for leave to proceed in forma 24 pauperis (ECF No. 3) is denied as moot. 25 It is further ordered that the Clerk shall send Wilcox two copies each of 26 an application form to proceed in forma pauperis for incarcerated persons and a 27 1 The court takes judicial notice of the docket for Wilcox’s state criminal proceedings available online at 28 https://www.clarkcountycourts.us/Anonymous/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=11422836. 1 || noncapital Section 2254 habeas petition form, and one copy of the instructions 2 || for each form. 3 DATED THIS 21st day of August, 2023. 4 Ana losed Jer S ANNE R. TRAUM 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28