JOHN E. STEELE, District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on a petition for habeas corpus relief, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (Doc. 1, filed Apr. 8, 2013). Petitioner, proceeding pro se, asserts that he is entitled to thirteen years' credit on his fifteen-year sentence for trafficking in cocaine.
Upon review of the record the Court concludes that this case must be dismissed as moot. Alternatively, the case is dismissed due to Petitioner's failure to update his address with the Court.
On June 15, 1989, Petitioner was arrested and charged with trafficking in a controlled substance in Collier County, Florida (App. at 53-54, 281).
On April 23, 1996, Petitioner pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine and received a fifteen-year prison sentence (App. at 53-54, 285). Prior to being sent to the Florida Department of Corrections to begin his fifteen-year sentence, Petitioner was taken to Hillsborough County to face charges for failure to redeliver a hired vehicle (App. at 55). He was sentenced to time served in that case, and Hillsborough County mistakenly released him on June 6, 1996 due to the Department of Corrections' failure to file a detainer (App. at 48, 54, 286).
Thirteen years later, Petitioner was arrested in New York for using his brother's Metro Card to ride the subway (App. at 53). Petitioner was returned to Florida in 2009 and began service of his fifteen year sentence (App. at 48, 54, 286).
On June 21, 2010, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus in Liberty County, Florida in which he asserted that he should receive credit towards his fifteen year sentence for the thirteen years spent at liberty because it was not his fault that Hillsborough County Jail mistakenly released him (App. at 6-20).
The Department of Corrections asked Liberty Correctional Institution to conduct an "out time investigation" so that Petitioner could give his side of the story (App. 27-29). At the hearing, Petitioner explained that he went to the Hillsborough County Courthouse for charges of failure to redeliver a hired vehicle. The judge gave him credit for time served, and upon his return to the jail, he was mistakenly released (App. at 51). Petitioner was asked whether he thought he was supposed to be released and he replied, "no." (App. at 51). He also admitted that he did not think he had served his sentence, was not entitled to release, and made no effort to contact the Florida Department of Corrections to clarify his status.
The hearing officer determined that Petitioner was not entitled to out-time credit because he "was aware of the error and made no attempt to notify the releasing authority" or the Department of Corrections (App. at 51-55). The DOC agreed and denied Petitioner credit for the time he spent out of custody after the mistaken release (App. at 48-50).
On September 23, 2010, the DOC filed a response to Petitioner's state habeas petition and argued that, under Florida law, he was not entitled to credit for time spent out of custody (App. at 33-77). Petitioner filed a reply in which he asserted, for the first time, that he actually had "contacted the Florida Department of Corrections regarding his status and had been told no record existed of his sentence. He provided his name, date of birth and address where he could be located. Moreover, he contacted the Collier County Jail with his address for the return of his GED certificate." (App. at 117).
The circuit court denied Petitioner's state petition for writ of habeas corpus (App. at 168-75). The court recognized that an offender who is forced to interrupt his sentence due to no fault on his part may be entitled to credit for time spent out of prison following the interruption of his sentence.
(App. at 171-73). Petitioner appealed the circuit court's ruling, and the First District Court of Appeal treated his appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari and ordered a response from the DOC (App. 190-206). In his reply to the response, Petitioner argued, for the first time, that he does not speak English and it was the language barrier that caused the "fundamental miscarriage of justice" at issue (App. at 249-63). On July 11, 2012, the First District denied the petition on the merits in an unelaborated decision.
Petitioner filed the instant petition on April 8, 2013 (Doc. 1). He makes four general arguments in the petition. He asserts that: (1) he is entitled to credit for time served out of custody because it was not his fault that he was released in error; (2) he was not at fault for the error because he did not understand English and was not provided a translator during his conviction proceedings; (3) he was entitled to a translator during the Department of Correction's investigation of the release; and (4) his constitutional right against self-incrimination was violated by Florida's rule that a person released in error must alert authorities to the erroneous release (Doc. 1 at 4-12). He seeks immediate release from DOC custody.
Respondent filed a response on October 11, 2013, arguing that Petitioner failed to exhaust the last three claims (Doc. 14 at 16). Respondent also contends that Petitioner is not entitled to credit for the thirteen years spent at liberty because he knew he was on his way to prison to serve a 15-year sentence, and he knew that the Hillsborough County authorities mistakenly released him.
On October 28, 2013, Petitioner asked for an extension of time to reply to the response (Doc. 15). Petitioner noted that he was due to be released from the DOC on November 3, 2013, and needed an extension of time to file a reply in order to find an attorney and to "[adjust] to society."
On November 3, 2013, Petitioner notified the Court that he had been released from prison, but had been taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") custody and was being held at the Wakulla County Jail in Crawfordville, Florida (Doc. 17). Petitioner filed no other changes of address with this Court despite orders from this Court on April 9, 2013 and June 27, 2013 requiring him to keep the court apprised of his current address at all times (Doc. 4 at 2; Doc. 10 at 4). On June 27, 2013, Petitioner was cautioned that his failure to update his address with the Court could result in the dismissal of this action (Doc. 10 at 4).
On March 13, 2015, this Court ordered Petitioner to show cause why the instant petition should not be dismissed as moot (Doc. 18).
Article III, § 2 of the United States Constitution requires the existence of a case or controversy through all stages of federal judicial proceedings. This means that, throughout the litigation, the petitioner "must have suffered, or be threatened with, an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision[.]"
In the habeas context, a prisoner's "challenge to the validity of his conviction always satisfies the case-or-controversy requirement, because the incarceration (or the restriction imposed by the terms of the parole) constitutes a concrete injury, caused by the conviction and redressable by invalidation of the conviction."
Here, Petitioner does not challenge his conviction or the length of his sentence as it was originally imposed. Petitioner questions only the DOC's execution of his sentence — specifically, whether his "out-time" should be counted against his total sentence. As relief, Petitioner requests that the Court order his immediate release from DOC custody (Doc. 1 at 12). The record establishes that Petitioner has already been released from DOC custody (Doc. 17; discussion
On April 9, 2013 and June 27, 2013, Petitioner was ordered to keep the court apprised of his current address at all times (Doc. 4 at 2; Doc. 10 at 4). He was cautioned that his failure to do so could result in the dismissal of this case without further notice (Doc. 10 at 4). On November 14, 2013, Petitioner informed the Court that he was being held at the Wakulla County Jail, 15 Oak Street, Crawfordville, Florida 32327 (Doc. 17). Subsequently, the Court sent mail to Petitioner on March 19, 2015 which was returned as undeliverable because Petitioner was no longer at the Wakulla County Jail. Petitioner has filed no further updates with this Court.
Accordingly, this case is subject to dismissal due to Petitioner's failure to notify the Court of his current address.
Petitioner's only objective in bringing this habeas action was to be released from DOC custody based upon his assertion that the DOC had erroneously concluded that he was not entitled to credit against his sentence for time spent out of custody. Petitioner has since been released from DOC custody, and there is no longer a case or controversy to litigate. Therefore his habeas claims are moot, and this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider them.
Alternatively, this case is subject to dismissal due to Petitioner's failure to notify the Court of his current address.
Accordingly, it is hereby
1. The Florida Attorney General is
2. The 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for habeas corpus relief filed by Marcelino Gonzalez (Doc. 1) is
3. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate any pending motions, enter judgment accordingly, and close this case.