Federal Court Considers Accessibility Accommodations and Dismissal in Habeas Proceeding

On July 28, 2026, a magistrate judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order, findings, and recommendations regarding a pending federal petition (Case No. 2:23-cv-1862).

Background and Procedural History

The court previously dismissed the petitioner’s second amended petition with leave to amend on March 10, 2025, after concluding it failed to put the court or any respondent on notice of the claims at issue. The filing comprised nearly one thousand pages of exhibits described as fundamentally unintelligible. After more than a year elapsed without an amended filing, the magistrate judge recommended that the petition be dismissed without leave to amend for failure to state a claim and failure to prosecute.

Requests for Disability Accommodations and Stay

The petitioner filed an emergency motion for a stay (ECF No. 55), requesting an evidentiary hearing to explore the impact of an alleged visual disability. In that motion, the petitioner requested accommodations including audio versions of court files and screen-reader-compatible documents.

The magistrate judge recommended that the motion for an emergency stay be denied, stating that the petitioner’s suggested remedies of audio files and screen-reader-compatible court records are "not practically implementable at this time."

Deadlines and Next Steps

While recommending the denial of the stay, the court granted the petitioner’s separate motion (ECF No. 54) for an extension of time. The court ordered that:

• Objections to prior findings and recommendations (ECF No. 53) are due within 60 days of the entry of the order.
• Objections to the new findings and recommendations—which recommend dismissing the petition and denying the stay—must be filed within 14 days of service.
• Any responses to those objections must be filed within 14 days of being served.

The findings and recommendations have been referred to the assigned United States District Judge for final review under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Further case details are available via govinfo.gov.