Jones v. Vaught
- Jerry Blackwell
- 0:25-cv-02028
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Kenneth Ron Jones v. T. Vaught, Judge Blackwell denied Jones’s federal-custody petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
Kenneth Ron Jones, who represented himself and whose federal-custody petition was denied without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction.
What happened
Kenneth Ron Jones v. T. Vaught concerned Jones’s petition challenging his federal custody under a federal habeas statute. Jones represented himself, while the respondent was represented by government attorneys.
A magistrate judge had recommended denying the petition. No one objected within the allowed time, so the court reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none.
Judge Jerry W. Blackwell accepted the recommendation and denied Jones’s petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. The ruling did not bar Jones from filing again based on the court’s use of “without prejudice.”
The detailed version
- Jones v. Vaught · No. 0:25-cv-02028
- Jerry W. Blackwell
- July 11, 2025
Background
Kenneth Ron Jones, representing himself, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging his federal custody. T. Vaught was represented by attorneys from the United States Attorney’s Office.
Report and Recommendation
United States Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright issued a Report and Recommendation on May 20, 2025. No objections were filed within the permitted time. Under the applicable procedure, the district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none.
Ruling
The court accepted the May 20, 2025 Report and Recommendation. It denied Jones’s petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. “Without prejudice” means the order does not itself bar a later filing. The court directed that judgment be entered accordingly.
What the Opinion Does Not Explain
This order does not provide the reasoning from the magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation, so it does not identify why the court lacked jurisdiction.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.