1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

3

4 MITCHELL KEITH GOODRUM, Case No. 3:24-cv-00069-MMD-CSD

5 Plaintiff, ORDER v. 6 NEW RIVER TOWNSHIP, et al., 7 Defendants. 8 9 I. DISCUSSION 10 On October 24, 2024, the Court issued an order screening Plaintiff’s civil rights 11 complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. (ECF No. 4.) The screening order dismissed 12 Plaintiff’s claims without prejudice and with leave to amend. (Id. at 8-9.) However, the 13 Court noted that under Heck v. Humphrey,

(1994) Plaintiff could only bring 14 his due process claim regarding his competence to stand trial if his conviction has already 15 been overturned. (Id. at 5-6.) The Court gave Plaintiff leave to amend his medical care 16 claim based on the vague allegations in the complaint, but the Court also noted that 17 Plaintiff’s claim regarding his medical care may also be barred by Heck. (Id.) 18 Plaintiff has filed a motion requesting that this case be stayed while he pursues a 19 habeas corpus petition. (ECF No. 6.) Plaintiff states that he intends to file the petition by 20 January 30, 2025. (Id.) Plaintiff also requests an extension to file an amended complaint. 21 (Id.) 22 Based on Plaintiff’s motion, it appears that Plaintiff’s conviction has not yet been 23 overturned, and he wishes to stay this case while he seeks to overturn his conviction. 24 However, Heck states that when a plaintiff brings a complaint under

25 that would necessarily imply the invalidity of his conviction, “the complaint must be 26 dismissed unless the plaintiff can demonstrate that the conviction or sentence has 27 already been invalidated.” Heck,

(emphasis added). The Court’s previous 1|| provide for courts to stay cases while a Plaintiff seeks to overturn his conviction, Plaintiff's request for a stay is denied. 3 To the extent that Plaintiff has claims that are not barred by Heck, he may pursue 4|| them now. Plaintiff may only bring claims that implicate Heck after his conviction has been overturned. If Plaintiff believes that all of his claims in this case are barred by Heck, he may file a motion to voluntarily dismiss this case without prejudice and then pursue his 7|| claims after he overturns his conviction. 8 The Court grants plaintiff an extension until March 10, 2025, to file an amended 9} } complaint. Barring unusual circumstances, the Court does not anticipate granting another 10|| extension. IL. CONCLUSION 12 It is therefore ordered that Plaintiff's motion requesting a stay and an extension to file an amended complaint (ECF No. 6) is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff's 14|| request to stay this case is denied. Plaintiff request for an extension is granted. Plaintiff shall file any amended complaint on or before March 10, 2025. 16 Pursuant to the Court’s previous screening order, if Plaintiff fails to file an amended 17|| complaint by this extended deadline, this case will be subject to dismissal. 18 DATED: February 6, 2025 19 c Ss 20 UNITED STATES ISTRATE JUDGE 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28