Johnson, Robert v. State of Wisconsin

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
ROBERT GEORGE JOHNSON,
Petitioner,
v.
STATE OF WISCONSIN,
Respondent.
ORDER
25-cv-1006-jdp
Petitioner Robert George Johnson, proceeding without counsel, brings a petition for
writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Johnson is serving a 40-year term of
incarceration following his conviction for one count of first-degree sexual assault of a child
under thirteen, in violation of Wis. Stat. § 948.02(1)(e). State v. Johnson, 2023 WI App 32,
¶¶ 1, 7, 29, 993 N.W.2d 170 (table).
Petitions under § 2254 “must meet heightened pleading requirements.” McFarland v.
Scott, 512 U.S. 849, 856 (1994). The petition must substantially follow the form prescribed by
this court. Rule 2(d), Section 2254 Rules. The court’s form requires petitioners to state specific
facts supporting each claim for relief, and to avoid argument or citing law. The court has
inherent powers to manage its docket in a way to “achieve the orderly and expeditious
disposition of cases,” Dietz v. Bouldin, 579 U.S. 40, 45 (2016), which includes the power to
impose reasonable page limits on legal filings, see Lue v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 768 F. App’x 7,
9 (2d Cir. 2019).
Johnson submitted his petition on a typewritten copy of the court’s form but, as
presented, the petition does not substantially comply with the form’s requirements. Running
64 pages, the petition is excessively long and argumentative, and it has many vague and
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immaterial allegations. Compounding the lack of organization is Johnson’s assertion of
multiple constitutional violations in each ground, and his incorporation of facts and arguments
from other grounds and state-court filings. The court will not parse the current petition to
attempt to discern the specific facts supporting a potentially meritorious claim because that
would unduly strain the court’s resources and divert it from its role as a neutral decisionmaker.
The court must construe Johnson’s allegations generously, but it cannot construct his claims
for him.
The court will require Johnson to file an amended petition, using the copy of the form
sent with this order, to clarify his grounds for relief and identify the specific facts supporting
each ground. Johnson may include supplemental pages with the form if he needs more space
to allege facts supporting his claims, but he may provide no more than ten supplemental pages.
If Johnson files a separate legal memorandum, it likewise must not exceed ten pages. Johnson
must not incorporate by reference facts or arguments from other grounds, state-court filings,
or any exhibits.
Any text or handwriting on the amended petition or any supplemental page, or in any
legal memorandum, must not be excessively small and must contain at least 1.5 spacing
between lines to ensure readability. Any handwriting must also be reasonably neat. For
reference, some of the handwriting in Johnson’s petition is illegible, and his typewritten
supplemental pages lack adequate spacing between the lines to ensure readability.
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ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. 	Petitioner Robert George Johnson has until March 23, 2026 to file an amended
petition in accordance with this order.
2. 	Petitioner is to be sent a copy of the court’s § 2254 form.
Entered February 19, 2026.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
________________________________________
ANITA MARIE BOOR
Magistrate Judge
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