Case Information
*1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA SHREVEPORT DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CRIMINAL ACTION NO. 13-00149
[CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-0961] VERSUS JUDGE S. MAURICE HICKS, JR. STEVEN DEEM MAGISTRATE JUDGE HORNSBY
ORDER
Before the Court is a Motion to Amend and Supplement the Pleadings (Record Document 137) filed by pro se petitioner Steven Deem (“Deem”) in connection with his pending Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (Record Document 119). Deems asks to amend his Section 2255 motion to include an argument that the search warrant and his arrest should be invalidated since the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (“NCMEC”) is a government entity to which the Fourth Amendment applies. See Record Document 137 at 2. He also seeks to supplement his Section 2255 motion with an affidavit. See id.; see also Record Document 137-1. Within
his reply brief, Deem requests both oral argument and the appointment of standby counsel. See Record Document 126 at 2.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 governs amended and supplemental pleadings, and the law is clear that Rule 15 applies to amendments of § 2255 motions. See U.S. v. Saenz, 282 F.3d 354, 356 (5th Cir.2002). Under Rule 15(c), a district court may, in its discretion, permit an amendment which clarifies or amplifies a claim or theory in a timely filed § 2255 petition after AEDPA’s one year statute of limitations has expired. See U.S. v. Thomas, 221 F.3d 430, 433-434 (3rd Cir. 2000). Conversely, an amendment under Rule 15(c) should not be allowed where the movant seeks to add an entirely new claim or *2 new theory of relief. See id.
Here, Deem’s amendment and affidavit regarding the NCMEC seeks to add a new theory of relief and he is not entitled to amend his § 2255 motion under Rule 15. The other information contained in the affidavit is repetitive and does not serve to clarify or amplify his previously plead theories and claims.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Deem’s Motion to Amend and Supplement the Pleadings (Record Document 137) be and is hereby DENIED .
THUS DONE AND SIGNED , in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 15th day of August, 2017.
