Trebas v. Price
Filing
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ORDER GRANTING Respondent's 13 Motion to Dismiss, Dismissing Petition as Moot, and Declining to Issue Certificate of Appealability, signed by Magistrate Judge Michael J. Seng on 8/21/17. CASE CLOSED. (Marrujo, C)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DANIEL TREBAS,
Petitioner,
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v.
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Respondent.
ORDER GRANTING RESPONDENT’S
MOTION TO DISMISS, DISMISSING
PETITION AS MOOT, AND DECLINING TO
ISSUE CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY
BRANDON PRICE, Executive Director,
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Case No. 1:17-cv-00265-MJS (HC)
(ECF Nos. 1, 13)
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CLERK TO TERMINATE MOTIONS AND
CLOSE CASE
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Petitioner is a former civil detainee proceeding pro se with a petition for writ of
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habeas corpus brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Respondent Brandon Price,
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Executive Director of Coalinga State Hospital, is represented by Tami M. Krenzin of the
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Office of the Attorney General for the State of California. The parties have consented to
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Magistrate Judge jurisdiction for all purposes. (ECF Nos. 9, 19.)
For the reasons set forth below, the petition will be dismissed as moot.
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I.
Procedural History
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Petitioner initiated this action on February 16, 2017. (ECF No. 1 at 13.) In the
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petition, he contends that he is confined at Coalinga State Hospital in violation of his
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constitutional rights because there is no longer any medical basis to support his
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commitment. His argument appears to be premised primarily on an August 31, 2016
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Forensic Report from the Department of State Hospitals, recommending that Petitioner
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not remain civilly committed.
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On March 10, 2017, Petitioner filed a notice of change of address to a non-
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custodial address. (ECF No. 7.) On June 21, 2017, Respondent moved to dismiss the
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petition as moot on the ground Petitioner had been released from custody and therefore
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could no longer be afforded any relief in this habeas action. (ECF No. 13.)
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On July 10, 2017, Petitioner filed “objections” to the motion. (ECF No. 15.)
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Therein, he stated that he had received Respondent’s notice of lodging documents in
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support of the motion to dismiss, but had not received the motion itself. Petitioner,
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assuming that the motion to dismiss argued that the petition was moot, argued that the
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petition presented an issue of importance to state taxpayers and other detainees.
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On July 13, 2017, the Court ordered Respondent to re-serve the motion on
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Petitioner and afforded Petitioner an additional thirty days to file a response. (ECF No.
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16.) However, Petitioner did not file a response and the time to do so has passed. The
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matter is submitted. Local Rule 230(l).
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II.
Mootness
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A case becomes moot when it no longer satisfies the case-or-controversy
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requirement of Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution. Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7
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(1998). This requirement demands that the parties continue to have a personal stake in
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the outcome of a federal lawsuit through all stages of the judicial proceeding. Id. “This
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means that, throughout the litigation, the plaintiff ‘must have suffered, or be threatened
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with, an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable
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judicial decision.’” Id. (quoting Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp., 494 U.S. 472, 477
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(1990)). Mootness is jurisdictional. See Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, 228
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F.3d 1092, 1098. (9th Cir. 2000). When, because of intervening events, a court cannot
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give any effectual relief in favor of the petitioner, the proceeding should be dismissed as
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moot. Calderon v. Moore, 518 U.S. 149, 150 (1996).
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A habeas petition is moot when the petitioner's claim for relief cannot be
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redressed by issuance of a writ of habeas corpus by the court. See id. An incarcerated
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or paroled convict's challenge to the validity of his conviction satisfies the case-or-
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controversy requirement because the incarceration or the restrictions imposed by the
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terms of the parole constitute a concrete injury, caused by the conviction and
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redressable by the invalidation of the conviction. Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7
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(1998). Once the sentence has expired, however, some “collateral consequence” of the
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conviction must exist if the suit is to be maintained and not considered moot. Id. Courts
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do not presume a collateral consequence exists from an SVPA commitment. Therefore,
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Petitioner must demonstrate a collateral consequence to defeat a mootness challenge.
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See Jackson v. California Dept. of Mental Health, 399 F.3d 1069, 1073-74, 1074 n.4 (9th
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Cir. 2005).
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III.
Analysis
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It is undisputed that Petitioner is no longer in the custody of the Department of
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State Hospitals. (ECF Nos. 7, 13, 15.) He has not alleged any collateral consequence
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arising from his commitment. Moreover, he does not seek relief in relation to the
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commitment or recommitment petitions themselves. He argues merely that he was not
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released when he believes he should have been under the law. He since has been
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released, and therefore has been afforded the only relief that would appear to have been
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available to him in this action. The Court concludes that the action is moot and must be
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dismissed.
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IV.
Conclusion and Order
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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that
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1. Respondent’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED;
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2. The petition is dismissed as moot;
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3. The Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C.
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§ 2253(c); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000) (in order to obtain
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a COA, petitioner must show: (1) that jurists of reason would find it
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debatable whether the petition stated a valid claim of a denial of a
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constitutional right; and (2) that jurists of reason would find it debatable
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whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling). In the
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present case, the court finds that reasonable jurists would not find the
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court’s determination that the petition should be dismissed debatable or
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wrong, or that petitioner should be allowed to proceed further; and
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4. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate any pending motions and close
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the case.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
August 21, 2017
/s/
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Michael J. Seng
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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