Guereca v. Benov

Filing 15

ORDER for Petitioner to SHOW CAUSE Why Petition Should Not Be Dismissed as Moot, signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 11/22/13: Thirty-Day Deadline to file Response to OSC. (Hellings, J)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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1:12-cv-01910 MJS HC
JUAN FRANCISCO ORTIZ
GUERECA,

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ORDER FOR PETITIONER TO SHOW
CAUSE WHY PETITION SHOULD NOT BE
Petitioner, DISMISSED AS MOOT

v.

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MICHAEL L. BENOV,

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Respondent.

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Petitioner is a former federal prisoner proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of
habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The petition challenges the calculation of
Petitioner’s release date.
Respondent has responded to the petition. On August 30, 2013, the Court
ordered Respondent to show cause why the petition should not be granted. In response,
Respondent explained that Petitioner had been released from prison to immigration
authorities on May 12, 2013, and is no longer in custody of the Bureau of Prisons.
As Respondent filed an answer to the petition after Petitioner had been released
and there indicated Petitioner was still in custody, the Court ordered Respondent to
show cause why he should not be sanctioned under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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11(b)(3). Respondent filed a satisfactory response to the order on October 11, 2013.

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Federal courts lack jurisdiction to decide cases that are moot because the courts’

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constitutional authority extends only to actual cases or controversies. Iron Arrow Honor

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Society v. Heckler, 464 U.S. 67, 70-71 (1983). Article III requires a case or controversy

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in which a litigant has a personal stake in the outcome of the suit throughout all stages of

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federal judicial proceedings and has suffered some actual injury that can be redressed

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by a favorable judicial decision. Id. A petition for writ of habeas corpus becomes moot

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when it no longer presents a case or controversy under Article III, § 2 of the Constitution.

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Wilson v. Terhune, 319 F.3d 477, 479 (9th Cir. 2003). A petition for writ of habeas

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corpus is moot where a petitioner’s claim for relief cannot be redressed by a favorable

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decision of the court issuing a writ of habeas corpus. Burnett v. Lampert, 432 F.3d 996,

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1000-01 (9th Cir. 2005) (quoting Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7 (1998)). Mootness is

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jurisdictional. See Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, 228 F.3d 1092, 1098-99

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(9th Cir. 2000). Thus, a moot petition must be dismissed because nothing remains

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before the Court to be remedied. Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. at 18.

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A case becomes moot because of the absence of an actual case or controversy

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where the petitioner no longer suffers or anticipates an injury traceable to the respondent

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which is likely to be redressed by a judicial decision. Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. at 11.

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Although a habeas claim for credit on a sentence may be mooted by the petitioner’s

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release, it is also possible that the claim remains viable. For example, a habeas

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challenge to a term of imprisonment is not mooted by a petitioner’s release where the

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petitioner remains on supervised release and there is a possibility that the petitioner

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could receive a reduction in his term of supervised release. Reynolds v. Thomas, 603

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F.3d 1144, 1148 (9th Cir. 2010). In Reynolds, it was held that a proceeding pursuant to

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28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging a decision of the BOP denying the petitioner’s request for

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credit towards his federal sentence for days spent in state custody was not moot where

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the petitioner was released and remained on supervised release, and the BOP’s internal,

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favorable decision did not recalculate the petitioner’s release date as the petitioner had
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requested.

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Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that within thirty (30) days of the date of this order,

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Petitioner shall show cause why the Court should not dismiss the petition for mootness.

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If Petitioner files a response to this order, Respondent may file a reply to Petitioner’s

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response no later than ten (10) days after the date of service of Petitioner’s response on

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Respondent. Petitioner is instructed that a failure to comply with this order may itself be

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considered a basis for imposing sanctions against Petitioner pursuant to Local Rule 110,

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and will result in dismissal of the petition.

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Furthermore, the order to show cause regarding sanctions against Respondent is

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discharged. Respondent is admonished that a failure to accurately check and report the

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state of custody of inmates in these proceedings can, as it did here, result in the Court

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devoting significant time unnecessarily to the case. This Court, one of the busiest in the

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nation, cannot afford an unnecessary expenditure of its time.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

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November 22, 2013

/s/

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
DEAC _Signature- END:

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Michael J. Seng

92b0h

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