Free Notice of Substitution of Counsel - District Court of California - California

Case 4:08-cv-03231-CW

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KENT A. RUSSELL (Cal. Bar #52021) Law Offices of Russell and Russell 2 2299 Sutter Street San Francisco, CA 94115 3 Phone: 415-929-8301. Fax: 415-929-8303 4 e-mail: [email protected]
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Attorney for Petitioner MARIO MERINO IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) ) MICHAEL MARTEL, Warden, ) ) Respondent. ) ______________________________ ) MARIO MERINO, No. C 08-3231 CW APPLICATION FOR CONSENT ORDER GRANTING SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY Attached: > Substitution of Attorneys > Consent Order

Petitioner MARIO MERINO, by and through his counsel of record Kent A. Russell, Esq., hereby applies to this Court for a consent order granting a substitution of attorneys, whereby Petitioner will henceforth represent himself in this matter. This Application is based on the Declaration of Kent A. Russell, which follows hereinbelow, and on the forms attached hereto (Substitution of Attorneys, Consent Order Granting Substitution of Attorney). Dated: July 30, 2008. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Kent A. Russell KENT A. RUSSELL Attorney for Petitioner MARINO 1

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DECLARATION OF KENT A. RUSSELL, ESQ., IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION FOR CONSENT ORDER GRANTING SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEYS I, Kent A. Russell, an attorney in good standing before the bar of this court, am current counsel of record for Petitioner MERINO. I hereby declare as follows in support of the within Application for substitution of counsel. 1. I was retained by Petitioner to represent him on state habeas corpus and, upon exhaustion of state remedies, to file a federal habeas corpus petition complying with AEDPA. 2. I have performed in this capacity to the best of my ability, including the filing of a federal habeas corpus petition on Petitioner's behalf, pursuant to 28 USC § 22554. Said petition was filed on July 3, 2008, within less than a month of the California Supreme Court order denying Petitioner's state habeas corpus petition. Because of the time constraints of AEDPA, and because Petitioner is an incarcerated prisoner, prior to the filing of his federal habeas corpus petition, I did not have time to consult with Petitioner about his long-term ability or desire to have me represent him in this litigation. 3. After the petition was filed, I was informed, through the family member who has been paying my fees, that the family no longer wished to retain me in this matter. Promptly thereafter, I wrote to Petitioner informing him of same, and requesting that he confirm his intention to discharge me by signing a Substitution of Attorneys form which I had executed, and a "Consent Order Granting Substitution of Attorney". I also provided Petitioner with a Request for Dismissal form in the event that Petitioner wanted to voluntarily dismiss the case.

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4. On or about July 15, 2008, while my correspondence to Petitioner concerning the foregoing was pending, this Court issued an Order to Show Cause, ordering Respondent to file an answer and permitting Petitioner to file a Reply thereto. 5. Within the past couple of days, I received a letter from Petitioner, in which he confirmed that he wished to discharge me and represent himself in this litigation, and in which Petitioner also stated that he did not want to have his case voluntarily dismissed. In conformity therewith, Petitioner signed the Substitution and Consent forms, thereby authorizing me to apply to this Court for an order permitting Petitioner to represent himself in all further proceedings. This Application promptly follows. 6. Based on the above, I hereby apply to this court for a consent order granting Petitioner's request to substitute me out of this litigation and, in lieu thereof, for Petitioner to represent himself in further proceedings before this Court. 7. Attached hereto are the executed forms referred to above. I declare under penalty of perjury and pursuant to the laws of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on July 30, 2008 at Sequim, WA. /s/ Kent A. Russell KENT A. RUSSELL, Esq. CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing, Petitioner respectfully requests that the Court consent to the requested substitution of attorneys, relieve present counsel of 3

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his duties in this litigation, and permit Petitioner to represent himself in all subsequent proceedings herein. Dated: July 30, 2008. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Kent A. Russell KENT A. RUSSELL Attorney for Petitioner MARIO MERINO

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