Adorno v. Nessigner

Background

Hector Adorno filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a procedure for challenging federal custody, and asked to remain at Wyatt Detention Facility while the petition was pending. He alleged that a disciplinary proceeding at Wyatt violated due process and sought cancellation of the resulting disciplinary actions and immediate release from custody.

The petition was placed in the prison mail system on November 21, 2024, and was later filed in the District of Rhode Island. After Adorno was transferred to a residential re-entry center in New York, the petition was transferred to the Southern District of New York. He was later transferred to FTC Oklahoma City and then to United States Penitentiary, Florence High, in Colorado.

Jurisdictional issue

The opinion states that, generally, a Section 2241 petition may be decided only in the district where the petitioner is physically present and held in custody, and where the custodian is within the court’s legal reach. Because Adorno had been transferred multiple times, the court sought information about the dates of those transfers and the appropriate next steps. The opinion did not decide whether the court ultimately had jurisdiction or whether Adorno’s disciplinary challenge was legally valid.

Order

Judge Valerie Caproni ordered the Clerk to electronically notify the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York that the order had been issued. The Government’s deadline to submit a letter identifying the transfer dates and proposing next steps was moved retroactively from January 24, 2025, to February 7, 2025. The Clerk was also directed to mail this order and an earlier order to Adorno at the Colorado prison. The order did not grant or deny Adorno’s requested release or other merits relief.