Hiratsuka v. Houser

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA
ALLEN HIRATSUKA,
Petitioner,
vs.
EARL HOUSER,
Respondent. Case No. 3:21-cv-00018-SLG-MMS
ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS
Allen 	Hiratsuka, 	representing 	himself 	from 	Goose 	Creek 	Correctional
Center, has filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, claiming the violation
of his federal constitutional rights in his state criminal case.1 The Court appointed
counsel for Mr. Hiratsuka, who has withdrawn from the case, and a response is
due on July 21, 2021. 2 Mr. Hiratsuka has now filed (1) a “Motion for Clarification
& Release Pending Adjudication of Federal Investigation into State Obstruction of
Justice and More,” and (2) a Motion to Compel, to which the Respondent has filed
an opposition.3
1 Docket 1; State of Alaska v. Allen Hiratsuka, Alaska Superior Court Case No. 3DI-18-
00319CR.
2 Dockets 26, 27, 28.
3 Dockets 29, 30, 31.
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Order Regarding Motions
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The Court takes judicial notice4 that state trials, which were postponed
because of the Covid-19 pandemic, have now resumed.5 The state court’s public
record indicates that a pretrial conference was held in Mr. Hiratsuka’s state criminal
case on June 14, 2021, and another hearing is scheduled for August 16, 2021.6
1. Motion for Clarification & Release Pending Federal Investigation into State
Obstruction of Justice and More …
This Court is not aware of a federal investigation into any alleged obstruction
of justice by the state, as implied in the title of the motion. 	Mr. Hiratsuka asserts
that at the hearing held on June 14, 2021, his state criminal attorney “indicated to
the court that this case could not move forward at this time, as this is a federal
case now.”7 For clarification, Mr. Hiratsuka’s state criminal case has not become
a federal case.
4 Judicial notice is the “court’s acceptance, for purposes of convenience and without
requiring a party’s proof, of a well-known and indisputable fact. . ..” Black’s Law Dictionary
(11th ed. 2019); see also Foster Poultry Farms v. Alkar-Rapidpak-MP Equip., Inc., 868 F.
Supp. 2d 983, 990 (E.D. Cal. 2012) (“Courts routinely take judicial notice of publicly
available records . . . from other court proceedings.”) (citing Engine Mfrs. Ass’n v. South
Coast Air Quality Management Dist., 498 F.3d 1031, 1039 n.2 (9th Cir. 2007) (additional
citation omitted)); Fed. R. Evid. 201.
5 See http://www.courts.alaska.gov/covid19/index.htm#socj.; https://alaska-coronavirus-
vaccine-outreach-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com 	[https://perma.cc/LRM6-VCFV] 	(as 	of
7/9/21, 641,623 Covid-19 vaccine doses had been given in Alaska).
6 https://records.courts.alaska.gov/eaccess/home.page.2, Alaska v. Hiratsuka, 3DI-18-
00319CR.
7 Docket 29 at 1-2.
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Case 3:21-cv-00018-SLG-MMS, Hiratsuka v. Houser
Order Regarding Motions
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2. Motion to Compel
Mr. Hiratsuka requests that this Court compel the Superior Court for the
State of Alaska to allow him to represent himself in his criminal case. 	This Court
must abstain from intervening at this time. 	Mr. Hiratsuka should file no further
motions in this case until the Court has an opportunity to review the Respondent’s
response which is due in two weeks.
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
1. The Motion for Clarification, at Docket 29, is GRANTED IN PART. 	To
clarify, Mr. Hiratsuka’s state criminal case has not become a federal case. 	The
proceedings in the above-captioned case do not give reason to postpone the
proceedings in State v. Hiratsuka, 3DI-18-00319CR.
2. The Motion to Compel, at Docket 30, is DENIED as premature.
Dated at Anchorage, Alaska this 9th day of July, 2021.
/s/ Matthew M. Scoble
United States Magistrate Judge
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