Gonzales v. United States District Court

OPINION

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge:

Ernest Valencia Gonzales seeks a writ of mandamus to stay his district court federal capital habeas proceedings under Rohan ex rel. Gates v. Woodford, 334 F.3d 803 (9th Cir.2003). There, we held that when a capital habeas petitioner “raises claims that could potentially benefit from his ability to communicate rationally,” id. at 819, his statutory right to counsel includes the right to competence during habeas proceedings. The district court denied Gonzales’s motion for a competency determination under Rohan because “[Gonzales’s] properly-exhausted claims are…