Opinion
No. CIV S-97-2167-MCE-CMK, DEATH PENALTY CASE.
November 12, 2008
ORDER
Petitioner, a state prisoner proceeding with appointed counsel, seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. A continued case management/status conference was held on October 30, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in Redding, California. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the results of the parties' meet-and-confer efforts regarding the issue of petitioner's competence to proceed. Prior to the hearing, the parties submitted a proposed stipulated order for appointment of experts pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 706(a) who will evaluate petitioner and prepare reports to be submitted to the parties and the court. By separate order, the court approves the stipulated order. Pursuant to the agreement of the parties, the doctors' shall complete their evaluations and prepare reports by February 2, 2009.
In the stipulated order, the parties indicate the following unresolved issues: (1) whether the parties can agree on a protective order regarding release of the doctors' reports; and (2) whether the parties can agree on the ultimate issue of competency and a stay of proceedings. At the hearing, the parties expressed their confidence that a stipulated protective order could be submitted to the court in short order. If a stipulated protective order regarding release of the doctors' reports cannot be reached by November 13, 2008, petitioner's counsel shall contact the undersigned's courtroom deputy to set a further status conference at which time a briefing schedule will be established.
Following resolution of the protective order issue and preparation of the experts' reports, the court will set a further status conference to discuss the parties' meet-an-confer efforts regarding the issue of petitioner's competency.
IT IS SO ORDERED.