Gatewood v. State of Washington

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT SEATTLE MAURICE NICHOLAS GATEWOOD, CASE NO. C21-1719-JCC Petitioner, ORDER 11 v. STATE OF WASHINGTON, 13 Respondent.

15 This matter comes before the Court on the Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) of the Honorable David W. Christel, United States Magistrate Judge (Dkt. No. 7) and the objections thereto (Dkt. No. 8). In the R&R, Judge Creatura recommends Petitioner’s habeas petition (Dkt.

18 No. 1) be dismissed without prejudice. (Dkt. No. 7 at 1.)

19 Petitioner is detained at the King County Jail. (Dkt. 1 at 16.) In his objections, he realleges the same constitutional violations related to search and seizure at the time of his arrest on state charges. (Compare Dkt. No. 1, with Dkt. No. 8.) The objections do not address Judge Christel’s primary conclusion: Because the pending state prosecution implicates important state interests, the Younger1 abstention doctrine applies, requiring a dismissal of the petition without prejudice. (Dkt. No. 7 at 2–3 (citing Kelly v. Robinson, 479 U.S. 36, 49 (1986) (citation 1 Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971).

1 omitted).) The Court agrees with this conclusion.

2 Accordingly, the Court ORDERS: 1. Plaintiff’s objections (Dkt. No. 8) are OVERRULED.

4 2. The R&R (Dkt. No. 7) is ADOPTED.

5 3. Petitioner’s federal habeas petition (Dkt. No. 7) is DENIED and this action is 6 DISMISSED without prejudice.

7 4. A certificate of appealability is DENIED.

8 5. All pending motions are DENIED as moot.

9 6. The Clerk is DIRECTED to close this case and send copies of this order to Petitioner and 10 to the Honorable David W. Christel.

12 DATED this 4th day of March 2022.

A John C. Coughenour 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE