MARK A. GOLDSMITH, District Judge.
Petitioner Shannon Howard, confined at the Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson, Michigan, filed a
Petitioner pleaded
The Michigan Department of Corrections Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS), which this Court is permitted to take judicial notice of,
On January 14, 2015, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus (Dkt. 1), in which he seeks habeas relief from his attempted receiving and concealing stolen property conviction.
Respondent filed a motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 12). As part of the motion, Respondent contends that the petition should be dismissed, because Petitioner is no longer in custody for this conviction, having been discharged from his sentence.
Petitioner filed a response to the motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 15).
The Court agrees with Respondent that the Court lacks jurisdiction over the habeas petition, due to the fact that the Petitioner is no longer in custody for his conviction, as he has now been discharged from his sentence. Therefore, the petition is denied.
The language of § 2241(c)(3) and § 2254(a) require that a habeas petitioner be "in custody" under the conviction or sentence under attack at the time that a habeas petition is filed in the federal court.
Additionally, once a habeas petitioner's sentence for a conviction has completely expired, the collateral consequences of that conviction are insufficient to render a habeas petitioner "in custody."
In order to obtain a certificate of appealability, a prisoner must make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). A certificate of appealability may be issued "only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). "The district court must issue or deny a certificate of appealability when it enters a final order adverse to the applicant." Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, Rule 11(a), 28 U.S.C. foll. § 2254.
When a district court denies a habeas petition on procedural grounds without reaching the prisoner's underlying constitutional claims, a certificate of appealability should issue, and an appeal of the district court's order may be taken, if the petitioner shows that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petitioner states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right, and that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling.
In this case, the Court denies Petitioner a certificate of appealability because reasonable jurists would not find it debatable whether this Court was correct in determining that Petitioner failed to meet the "in custody" requirement for maintaining a habeas action with respect to his conviction.
The Court also denies Petitioner leave to appeal
Based upon the foregoing, the Court summarily denies the petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Court also declines to issue a certificate of appealability and denies Petitioner permission to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal.
SO ORDERED.