SHEBA v. GREEN

Filing 7

OPINION. Signed by Judge John Michael Vazquez on 5/10/17. (DD, ) N/M

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
____________________________________
:
ADEBOWALE SHEBA,
:
:
Civil Action No. 17-676 (JMV)
Petitioner,
:
:
v.
:
OPINION
:
CHARLES GREEN,
:
:
Respondent.
:
____________________________________:
APPEARANCES:
ADEBOWALE SHEBA
Essex County Correctional Facility
354 Doremus Ave.
Newark, NJ 07105
Petitioner, pro se
MARK CHRISTOPHER ORLOWSKI
Office of the U.S. Attorney
District of New Jersey
970 Broad Street, Suite 700
Newark, NJ 07101
On behalf of Respondent

VAZQUEZ, United States District Judge
On January 31, 2017, Petitioner Adebowale Sheba filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas
Corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (ECF No. 1), challenging his prolonged detention since August
15, 2016, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). (ECF No. 1 at 2.) This Court
ordered Respondent to answer the petition. (ECF No. 2.) Respondent submitted a Release
Notification dated May 8, 2017, showing that ICE approved Petitioner’s release from custody
pending removal. (ECF No. 6-1.) A search of ICE’s detainee locator database indicates that

Petitioner is no longer in custody. 1 Respondent contends the habeas petition is moot. (Id.)
A habeas petition “generally becomes moot when [a petitioner] is released from custody”
because there is no longer “an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed
by a favorable judicial decision.” Vasquez v. Aviles, 639 F. App’x 898, 902 (3d Cir. 2016)
(quoting DeFoy v. McCullough, 393 F.3d 439, 442 (3d Cir. 2005)). The present petition no longer
presents a case or controversy under Article III, § 2 of the United States Constitution because
Petitioner is no longer detained by ICE. See id. (finding petition moot where there were no
collateral consequences that could be addressed by success on the petition after removal) (citing
Abdala v. I.N.S., 488 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir. 2007)). Therefore, the petition is dismissed as
moot.

An appropriate Order follows.

Date: May 10, 2017
At Newark, New Jersey
s/ John Michael Vazquez
JOHN MICHAEL VAZQUEZ
United States District Judge

1

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Online Detainee Locator, available at
https://locator.ice.gov/odls/searchByAlienNumber.do
2