Marvin Vail-Jimenez v. Christopher LaRose; Patrick Divver; David Venturella; Markwayne Mullin; Todd Blanche
- Proceeding
- original
- Outcome
- other — Kincheloe
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- James E. Simmons (author)
Analysis
The court considered a pro se Petitioner's motion for appointment of counsel in a habeas corpus case. The court granted the motion, conditionally appointed Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., and ordered the Petitioner to file a financial affidavit by October 5, 2026.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Motion for appointment of counsel granted“the Court finds that representation will serve the interests of justice and GRANTS the motion for appointment of counsel.” | agree with court The court applied the standard from Weygandt v. Look, finding that the complexity of the issues meant representation served the interests of justice. This is the correct legal standard for appointing counsel in habeas cases. |
Counsel conditionally appointed“the Court hereby CONDITIONALLY APPOINTS Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., as counsel, effective immediately.” | agree with court The court correctly conditioned the appointment on the petitioner's financial eligibility, citing 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(b) and Terovolas v. Kincheloe. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly applies the Weygandt standard for appointing counsel and the Terovolas requirement for a financial affidavit. It also correctly cites authority for retaining jurisdiction to preserve the status quo. The reasoning is sound and supported by the cited authorities.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARVIN VAIL-JIMENEZ, Case No.: 26-cv-5533-JES-BJW 12 Petitioner, ORDER: 13 v. (1) GRANTING MOTION FOR 14 CHRISTOPHER LaROSE; PATRICK APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL; and DIVVER; DAVID VENTURELLA; 15 MARKWAYNE MULLIN; and TODD (2) CONDITIONALLY APPOINTING 16 BLANCHE, COUNSEL 17 Respondents. 18 [ECF No. 2] 19 Before the Court is Petitioner Marvin Vail-Jimenez’s (“Petitioner”) Petition for Writ 20 of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (“Petition”), filed on September 25, 2026. 21 ECF No. 1. Concurrently, Petitioner filed a motion to appoint counsel and motion for 22 temporary restraining order. ECF Nos. 2-3. 23 Considering the complexity of the constitutional, statutory, and procedural issues 24 presented in this matter, the Court finds that representation will serve the interests of justice 25 and GRANTS the motion for appointment of counsel. 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a)(2)(B); 26 Weygandt v. Look, 718 F.2d 952, 954 (9th Cir. 1983). Accordingly, the Court hereby 27 CONDITIONALLY APPOINTS Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., as counsel, 28 1 || effective immediately. The Court ORDERS Petitioner to submit a form CJA 23 financial 2 affidavit by October 5, 2026, to demonstrate his financial eligibility. See 18 U.S.C. § 3 ||3006A(b); Terovolas v. Kincheloe, 912 F.2d 1176, 1181-82 (9th Cir. 1990). If Federal 4 ||Defenders of San Diego, Inc., determines that Petitioner is not financially eligible for 5 ||appointed counsel, or that it does not have the capability to represent him, Federal 6 Defenders of San Diegos, Inc., shall notify Petitioner and file notice with this Court by 7 October 5, 2026. If so, Petitioner shall continue unrepresented. If Federal Defenders 8 ||choose to accept representation, Petitioner may file an amended Petition no later than 9 || October 5, 2026. 10 To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling in this matter, Petitioner shall 11 |/not be removed from this District unless and until the Court orders otherwise. See Doe v. 12 || Bondi, Case. No. 25-cv-805-BJC-JLB, 2025 WL 1870979 at *2 (S.D. Cal. June 11, 2025) 13 || (“Federal courts retain jurisdiction to preserve the status quo while determining whether it 14 || has subject matter jurisdiction over a case and while a petition is pending resolution from 15 || the court.’’) (citing cases); A.M. v. LaRose et al., 25-cv-01412, ECF No. 2 (S.D. Cal. June 16 2025). 17 IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 || Dated: September 28, 2026 19 Sen, 20 Honorable James E. Sunmons Jr. 1 United States District Judge 22 23 24 25 26 27 28