P.A. WHITE, Magistrate Judge.
Rafael Llovera has filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus attacking his order of deportation and three of the Florida convictions upon which the order was based, pursuant to United States Code Title 28, Sections 2241, 2254, and 1651.
This cause has been referred to the undersigned for consideration and report pursuant to United States Code Title 28, Section 636(b)(1)(B) and Rules 8 and 10 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts. The Court has before it the petition for writ of habeas corpus (DE# 1), the Respondent's response to an order to show cause (DE# 10), the Petitioner's addendum (DE# 11), and the Petitioner's other cases filed in this Court that are relevant to the instant proceeding.
The Petitioner is a citizen of Venezuela who came to the United States as a visitor in 1995 and never left. (12-20290 DE# 22-1 at 3). A number of criminal convictions in Broward County Circuit Court brought him to the attention of immigration authorities and ultimately resulted in an order of removal. (12-20290 DE# 22-1 at 8, 27, 43). They are Florida case numbers 99-103, 01-15766, 03-1597, and 05-13152.
Florida case number 99-103 charged the Petitioner with misdemeanors including resisting or obstructing without violence, fleeing, speeding, and theft. (12-20290 DE# 22-1 at 9). The theft count was dropped on January 22, 1999.
Florida case number 01-15766 charged the Petitioner with the felonies of trespass on a structure or conveyance, battery, the unlawful use of a false name or identity, and resisting or obstructing without violence. (12-20290 DE# 22-1 at 10). On May 7, 2002, he was adjudicated guilty of the trespass, battery, and resisting, and was sentenced to six months in County Jail. (12-20290 DE# 22-1 at 15).
Florida case number 03-1597 charged the Petitioner with the felonies of driving under the influence, driving with a revoked license, and possession of stolen property. (12-20290 DE# 22-1 at 14). On February 27, 2003, adjudication was withheld for DUI and driving with a revoked license and the court declined to adjudicate him for the possession of stolen property.
Florida case number 05-13152 charged the Petitioner with the felonies of assault on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding, habitual offender driving while intoxicated with a suspended license, and reckless driving. (DE# 22-1 at 17). The Petitioner pled no contest to aggravated fleeing, felony DUI, and reckless driving on May 21, 2007.
The Petitioner was released from the Florida Department of Corrections on August 2, 2010, and has been in ICE custody ever since.
An Immigration Judge found the Petitioner to be removable to Venezuela on May 9, 2011, because he remained in the country without authorization and was convicted of an aggravated felony. (13-22002 DE# 19-4 at 2). The Immigration Judge also denied his requests for asylum, and withholding or deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). (13-22002 DE# 19-4 at 2, 4-16). The Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") dismissed his appeal on September 15, 2011, and has refused to reconsider its decision. (13-22002 DE# 19-5 at 2, 6). The Eleventh Circuit dismissed the Petitioner's petition to review the BIA's decision for lack of jurisdiction. (13-22002 DE# 19-5 at 6);
According to the affidavit of Deportation Officer Ricardo Ramos, the Petitioner has obstructed ICE's removal attempts on numerous occasions. He was scheduled for removal on November 7, 2011, but he refused to board the flight to Venezuela. (13-22002 DE# 19-9 at 2). The Petitioner was again scheduled for removal on January 19, 2012, but had to be removed from the flight manifest due to failure to cooperate. He again refused to board a flight on February 21, 2012. After repeatedly failing to cooperate with the preparation of travel documents, he was again scheduled to depart on May 28, 2013, and August 8, 2013. He obstructed removal on both occasions. His repeated refusals to complete travel documents and board flights to Venezuela have resulted in the service of numerous I-229(a) forms and at least eleven notices for failure to comply. ICE maintains that its attempts to remove him would have been completed as early as November 7, 2011, but for his refusal to cooperate, and that it continues in its efforts to remove him from the United States.
The Petitioner has filed numerous actions in this Court in which he has attempted to defeat removal, either by directly addressing the immigration proceedings or by attacking the Florida convictions upon which the removal decision was based. They are briefly set forth here to provide context for the instant matter:
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Llovera has at least two other cases presently pending in the Southern District of Florida. They are:
United States Code Title 28, Section 2241 makes relief available to anyone held "in custody in violation of the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States." An action under Section 2241 is the proper vehicle to challenge the execution of a sentence, rather than the validity of the underlying conviction.
First, the Petitioner has brought a Section 2241 action in the wrong venue. He filed the instant petition from the Wakulla County Jail in Crawfordville, Florida, where he was being held in ICE custody.
Second, the Petitioner has also sought Section 2241 relief against the wrong party. Rather than naming his custodian, the Petitioner named the State of Florida as the Respondent even though he was in ICE custody at the time he filed the instant petition. The State of Florida should be dismissed as an improper party because it was not the Petitioner's immediate custodian at the time he filed the instant petition. Because the Petitioner was not and is not confined in the Southern District of Florida and no proper respondent has been named, this petition would be subject to dismissal for lack of jurisdiction if it were construed as a petition for Section 2241 relief. In such a case, it would normally be recommended that the Clerk be directed to transfer this case to the Petitioner's district of confinement. However, transfer is not appropriate here because the Petitioner is clearly not entitled to habeas corpus relief.
To the extent that the Petitioner is challenging his final order of removal, this Court has no jurisdiction. Alien detainees can properly challenge "the extent of the Attorney General's authority" to detain a removable alien under the general detention statutes pursuant to Section 2241.
To the extent that the Petitioner is challenging the lawfulness of his continued confinement, such a claim is meritless for the reasons set forth in the Undersigned's Report in case number 13-Cv-22002.
It appears that the Petitioner is challenging the lawfulness of Florida convictions in case numbers 99-103, 03-1597 and 05-13152. (DE# 1 at 1, 3, 4, 8). He claims that he entered involuntary pleas because counsel failed to inform him that they carried the risk of deportation pursuant to
Petitions for writ of habeas corpus brought pursuant to Section 2254 may be filed "in the district court for the district wherein such person is in custody or in the district court for the district within which the State court was held which convicted and sentenced him and each of such district courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction to entertain the application." 28 U.S.C. § 2241(d). Section 2254 relief is available for "a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court only on the ground that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States." 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). The "in custody" requirement is satisfied if a petitioner is incarcerated as a result of the conviction or sentence under attack at the time the petition is filed.
Venue is proper in the Southern District of Florida under Section 2254 because the Florida convictions that the Petitioner is attacking originated in Broward County, Florida. However, the Petitioner fails to satisfy Section 2254's "in custody" requirement. The Petitioner concedes that he has been in ICE custody since July 31, 2010. (DE# 1 at 1). Records maintained by the Florida Department of Corrections confirm that the Petitioner was released from the Department of Corrections on August 2, 2010, to the Wakulla County Jail under an ICE detainer.
The Petitioner has vigorously attacked his convictions and sentences in State court proceedings or, if he has failed to do so, the time has long since expired.
Because the Petitioner does not satisfy the "in custody" requirement, this Court is without jurisdiction to entertain a Section 2254 claim for relief from his Florida convictions.
Even if Section 2254 relief was available, the Petitioner's claims would fail.
The Petitioner seeks relief based on
The Petitioner's contention that his arrest and prosecution in one of the Florida cases violated
The Petitioner does not allege that he was subjected to any custodial interrogation. The alleged failure of officers to apprise him of his rights, by itself, does not raise any constitutional or statutory deprivation that would warrant dismissal. Nor can counsel be deemed ineffective for failing to seek dismissal under these circumstances.
Therefore, no Section 2254 relief is warranted.
The Petitioner also purports to seek review by way of coram nobis pursuant to Section 1651(a).
A petition for writ of error coram nobis is available to vacate a conviction when the petitioner has served his sentence and is no longer "in custody" for purposes of federal habeas relief.
The following five requirements must be met to obtain coram nobis relief: (1) the conviction or sentence involved an error of the most fundamental character; (2) it is probable that a different result would have occurred but for the error; (3) adverse consequences continue to flow from the conviction such that a case or controversy exists; (4) a more usual remedy is not presently available; and (5) sound reasons exist for not challenging the error earlier, such as by direct appeal or collateral attack.
A writ of error coram nobis may be justified in light of a retroactive dispositive change in the law.
The Court lacks jurisdiction because coram nobis in federal court is not a vehicle for challenging state court convictions.
This claim would also fail on the merits. It appears that the Petitioner may be able to satisfy two or three of the five coram nobis requirements, given that: (1) adverse consequences continue to flow from his Florida convictions in that he is unable to adjust his immigration status and is, thereby, excludable or removable, and (2) a more usual remedy is not now available because the Petitioner has already completed serving his sentence. The Petitioner may also be able to establish that (3) sound reasons exist for failing to challenge the alleged
As previously stated,
"[P]risoners have a constitutional right of access to the courts."
The Eleventh Circuit has recognized that various courts have employed and approved a variety of injunctive devices on vexatious litigants which include: enjoining prisoner litigants from relitigating specific claims or claims arising from the same set of factual circumstances; requiring litigants to accompany all future pleadings with affidavits certifying that the claims being raised are novel, subject to contempt for false swearing; directing litigants to attach to future complaints a list of all cases previously filed involving the same, similar, or related cause of action, and to send an extra copy of each pleading filed to the law clerk of the chief judge of the district; directing the litigant to seek leave of court before filing pleadings in any new or pending lawsuits; permitting abusive prisoner litigants to file in forma pauperis only claims alleging actual or threatened physical harm; and requiring payment of a filing fee to bring other claims; limiting the number of filings by a particular inmate; entering injunctions prohibiting the abusive prisoner from acting as a writ writer or jailhouse lawyer for other inmates.
The Petitioner has attacked the order of removal and his underlying Florida convictions on numerous occasions. The instant petition duplicates, nearly verbatim, the coram nobis petition he filed in this Court, case number 11-Cv-24627-SEITZ. The Court denied relief for lack of jurisdiction in that case and noted the Court had cautioned the Petitioner in a case raising similar claims, case number 12-cv-61430-DIMITROULEAS, that continued duplicative and vexatious filings may warrant the imposition of sanctions. (11-24627 DE# 55).
Because the Petitioner has already presented the present claims and has been denied relief, he should be required to show cause why he should not be prohibited from attacking his order of removal and the underlying Florida convictions with in forma pauperis status in the future.
To the extent petitioner requests an evidentiary hearing, this should be denied. To be entitled to an evidentiary hearing on habeas claims, a petitioner must allege facts that, if proved at the hearing, would entitle him to relief.
Section 2254 Rule 11(a) provides that "[t]he district court must issue or deny a certificate of appealability when it enters a final order adverse to the applicant," and if a certificate is issued "the court must state the specific issue or issues that satisfy the showing required by 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2)." "Before entering the final order, the court may direct the parties to submit arguments on whether a certificate should issue." 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Rule 11(a). A timely notice of appeal must be filed even if the court issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Rule 11(b).
After review of the record, the undersigned finds no substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right as to movant's claims.
Based upon the foregoing, it is recommended that: the claim for Section 2241 relief be dismissed or, in the alternative, denied on the merits; the claim for Section 2254 relief be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; the claim for Section 1651 relief be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; that a certificate of appealability should not issue; and the Petitioner be ordered to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed.
Objections to this report, including any objection with regards to the recommendation regarding the certificate of appealability, may be filed with the District Judge within fourteen days of receipt of a copy of the report.