Deuaughn-Hobby v. Gore
Filing
17
ORDER granting Respondent's 14 Motion to Dismiss. Court dismisses the Petition with prejudice. Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability because Court does not find that reasonable jurists would find Court's conclusion debatable or wrong. The Clerk is instructed to close this case. Signed by Judge Cynthia Bashant on 10/10/2018. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service) (jah) (dsn).
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
CALVIN DEUAUGHN-HOBBY,
Case No. 18-cv-1196-BAS-AGS
Petitioner,
12
13
v.
14
ORDER:
WILLIAM GORE, Warden,
15
(1) GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
PETITION
[ECF No. 14];
Respondent.
(2) DISMISSING PETITION
[ECF No. 1];
16
AND
17
(3) DENYING CERTIFICATE OF
APPEALABILITY
18
19
20
Pro se Petitioner Calvin Deuaughn-Hobby filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas
21
Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on June 5, 2018, seeking to challenge his extradition
22
from New York to California. (ECF No. 1.) Petitioner avers that his due process right to
23
a habeas corpus proceeding was violated because he “was never given a chance to file a
24
writ of habeas corpus in state court” in New York. (Id. at 3.) Petitioner indicates that he
25
requested a habeas proceeding “[o]n January 25, 2018 in Monroe County Court City of
26
Rochester state of New York,” but did not receive such a proceeding and was “delivered
27
up to the demanding state[.]” (Id. at 4, 5.) This Court instructed the California Attorney
28
General to show cause why the Petition should not be granted. (ECF No. 6.) The Attorney
1
18cv1196
1
General has moved to dismiss the Petition as moot given Petitioner’s extradition to
2
California. (ECF No. 14.) Petitioner has filed a letter with the Court, which the Court has
3
construed as a response to the motion to dismiss. (ECF No. 16.) For the reasons herein,
4
the Court grants the motion to dismiss, dismisses the Petition, and declines to issue a
5
certificate of appealability.
6
7
DISCUSSION
Petitioner seeks relief for the alleged violation of his due process rights caused by
8
New York’s extradition procedure.
9
extradited from New York to California and is no longer in New York state custody. (See
10
generally ECF No. 1.) As the Attorney General notes, Petitioner is currently in custody
11
pending trial for first degree murder and his bail for release from custody has been set at
12
some $2 million. (ECF No. 14-1 Exs. A, B.) The Attorney General argues that the Petition
13
must therefore be dismissed as moot. The Court agrees that the Petition must be dismissed.
14
Pursuant to Article III, federal court jurisdiction extends only to actual cases or
15
controversies. Iron Arrow Honor Society v. Heckler, 464 U.S. 67, 70–71 (1983). The case
16
or controversy requirement prevents a federal court from deciding “questions that cannot
17
affect the rights of litigants in the case before them.” Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp.,
18
494 U.S. 472, 477 (1990) (internal quotation marks omitted). A petition for writ of habeas
19
corpus becomes moot when it no longer presents a case or controversy. Wilson v. Terhune,
20
319 F.3d 477, 479 (9th Cir. 2003). “Mootness is jurisdictional.” Burnett v. Lampert, 432
21
F.3d 996, 1000-01 (9th Cir. 2005). When a federal court cannot redress a party’s actual
22
injury with a favorable judicial decision, the case is moot and must be dismissed. Spencer
23
v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7 (1998).
As is evident from the Petition, Petitioner was
24
Because Petitioner had already been extradited to California at the time he filed his
25
Petition, the Petition never presented a live controversy for this Court. “Once [a] fugitive
26
is returned to the demanding state, the right to challenge extradition becomes moot: the
27
fugitive is no longer being detained by the asylum state, and so, the legality of his or her
28
detention there is no longer at issue.” Barton v. Norrod, 106 F.3d 1289, 1298 (6th Cir.
2
18cv1196
1
1997); Harden v. Pataki, 320 F.3d 1289, 1298–99 (11th Cir. 2003) (holding that, while
2
habeas relief is mooted by the extradition, a civil rights action against the asylum state’s
3
officers who effected the extradition could proceed); Perez v. Mims, No. 1:16-cv-01935-
4
DAD-SKO HC, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33406, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 7, 2017) (dismissing
5
habeas petition challenge to an order of extradition as moot when petitioner was extradited
6
to face murder charges in foreign jurisdiction); Thurston v. State, No. 13-cv-00256-
7
DKW/BMK, 2013 WL 2637827, at *3 (D. Haw. June 12, 2013) (dismissing as moot
8
challenge to extradition when petitioner had already been extradited to demanding state).
9
Therefore, Petitioner’s challenge to New York state extradition procedures must be
10
dismissed for lack of a justiciable controversy.
11
Although Petitioner contends that probable cause was lacking to support his
12
extradition to California (ECF No. 16), “invalid extradition” is not “a sufficient ground
13
upon which to grant habeas relief once the fugitive is present in the jurisdiction from which
14
he fled.” Weilburg v. Shapiro, 488 F.3d 1202, 1206 (9th Cir. 2007) (citing Hudson v.
15
Moran, 760 F.2d 1027, 1029 (9th Cir. 1985); Siegel v. Edwards, 566 F.2d 958, 960 (5th
16
Cir. 1978) (per curiam)). The record shows that Petitioner has been charged with crimes
17
in California and is being processed accordingly. If Petitioner wishes to challenge his
18
criminal charges or any convictions, he must do so first in the California state courts and
19
only after exhausting his state court remedies may he pursue federal habeas related to those
20
convictions. 28 U.S.C. § 2254; see also Thurston, 2013 WL 2637827, at *3.
21
CONCLUSION & ORDER
22
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the motion to dismiss. (ECF No.
23
14.) The Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE the Petition. The Court DECLINES
24
to issue a certificate of appealability because the Court does not find that reasonable jurists
25
would find the Court’s conclusion debatable or wrong. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); 28
26
U.S.C. § 2254, foll. Rule 11(a). The Clerk of the Court is instructed to close this case.
27
28
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: October 10, 2018
3
18cv1196
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?