Case Name in Immigration Case - Unavailable

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
_____________________
JOSE YAGUACHI GUZMAN,
Petitioner,
v. 	No. 26-cv-02692-KWR-SCY
WARDEN, et al,
Respondents,
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus Under 28
U.S.C. § 2241 (Doc. 1) (Petition). 	Petitioner is an immigration detainee and is proceeding pro se.
It does not appear that he signed the opening pleading. 	Petitioner’s wife, Martha Guaman Japon,
mailed the Petition on his behalf. 	See Doc. 1 at 11. 	In the section addressing Grounds for Relief,
Ms. Japon states her husband is illegally detained. 	Id. at 6-7. 	Habeas Corpus Rule 2(c)(5) 1
provides a “petition must … be signed under penalty of perjury by the petitioner or by a person
authorized to sign it for the petitioner under 28 U.S.C. § 2242.” 	See also Kilgore v. Attorney Gen.
of Colo., 519 F.3d 1084, 1088 (10th Cir. 2008) (“It is Rules 2(a) through 2(c) that set forth the
minimum pleading requirements for the content of a petition.”). 	Section 2242 requires the
petition to be “signed and verified by the person for whose relief it is intended or by someone
1 “Habeas Corpus Rule” refers to the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District
Courts, effective February 1, 1997 and amended on December 1, 2019. 	The Court, in its discretion, applies
those rules to this § 2241 proceeding. See Habeas Corpus Rule 1(b) (“The district court may apply any or
all of these rules to [other types of] habeas corpus petitions”); Boutwell v. Keating, 399 F.3d 1203, 1211 n.
2 (10th Cir. 2005) (citing Rule 1(b) and holding the district court acted within its discretion by applying §
2254 Rules to a § 2241 proceeding).
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[legally] acting in his behalf.” 	28 U.S.C. § 2242.
Under certain limited circumstances, “next friends” may prosecute a habeas proceeding
“on behalf of detained prisoners who are unable … to seek relief themselves.” 	Whitmore v.
Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 162 (1990); see also Advisory Committee Note to Habeas Corpus Rule
2(c)(5) (“The Committee envisions that the courts would apply [the] … ‘next friend’ standing
analysis [set forth in Whitmore] in deciding whether the signer was actually authorized to sign the
motion on behalf of the movant.”). 	The petition “must set forth some … explanation for the
necessity of resorting to the use of a ‘next friend’” such as “inaccessibility, mental incompetence
or other disability.” 	Williams v. Boone, 166 F.3d 1223, *5 (10th Cir. 1999) (quoting Whitmore,
495 U.S. at 162). 	If the next friend fails to adequately demonstrate why the prisoner is unable
sign the petition, the Court is without jurisdiction to consider it. 	Id.; see also Jiron v. Swift, 671
Fed. App’x 705, 706 (10th Cir. 2016) (denying certificate of appealability and dismissing appeal
of “next friend” who failed to satisfy the Whitmore factors for next friend standing).
Here, neither Petitioner nor Ms. Japon have included any explanation for the use of a next
friend. 	To the extent they rely on Petitioner’s detention status, such explanation is insufficient to
warrant next-friend status. 	See, e.g., Jiron, 671 Fed. App’x at 706 (rejecting father’s attempt to
act as next friend when he failed to show how his daughter’s incarceration and failure to receive
certain documents from the district court “interfered with her ability to communicate with the
district court”). 	Within twenty-one (21) days of this Order, Petitioner must show cause, if any,
why the Petition should not be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. 	The failure to timely
comply with this ruling may result in dismissal without further notice.
IT IS ORDERED that within twenty-one (21) days of entry of Order, Petitioner shall file
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a response showing cause, if any, why the Petition should not be dismissed without prejudice.
SO ORDERED.
____/S/______________________________
KEA W. RIGGS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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