Beato-Estrella v. United States
- Alvin Hellerstein
- 1:25-cv-01806
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Beato-Estrella v. United States, Judge Hellerstein dismissed Domingo Beato-Estrella’s sentence challenge without prejudice because his direct appeal was pending.
Domingo Beato-Estrella, whose two petitions challenging his federal conviction and sentence were dismissed without prejudice while his direct appeal was pending.
What happened
In Beato-Estrella v. United States, Domingo Beato-Estrella challenged his conviction and 88-month prison sentence after pleading guilty under a plea agreement.
He filed a direct appeal on February 25, 2025, and then filed two petitions asking the court to vacate, set aside, or correct his conviction and sentence. The direct appeal was still pending when he filed those petitions.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein dismissed the petitions without prejudice because they were premature while the direct appeal was pending. The court closed the two civil cases and terminated the related motions.
The detailed version
- Beato-Estrella v. United States · No. 1:25-cv-01806
- Alvin Hellerstein
- Mar. 5, 2025
Background
Domingo Beato-Estrella pleaded guilty under a plea agreement and received a principal sentence of 88 months in prison. He filed a direct appeal in the Second Circuit on February 25, 2025. Three days later, he filed two petitions under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a law allowing a federal prisoner to ask the sentencing court to vacate, set aside, or correct a conviction or sentence. The petitions were docketed as 25 Civ. 1806 and 25 Civ. 1807.
Court’s reasoning
The court explained that a § 2255 petition filed before the prisoner’s direct appeal is finished is generally considered premature. Because Beato-Estrella’s direct appeal was pending, the court dismissed both petitions without prejudice to refiling after he exhausted the appeal. The court did not decide the underlying challenges to his conviction or sentence.
Disposition
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered the Clerk of Court to close civil cases 25 Civ. 1806 and 25 Civ. 1807 and terminate all motions in those cases. The court also ordered the termination of specified filings in the related criminal cases and directed that a copy of the order be mailed to Beato-Estrella.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.