Colon v. Miller
- Nelson Roman
- 7:23-cv-05597
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Colon v. Miller, Judge Roman dismissed Jerry Colon’s petition challenging his conviction as moot after Colon died during detention.
The ruling ended Jerry Colon’s federal challenge to his New York conviction. It dismissed the petition as moot after Colon’s death and terminated the action without deciding the underlying challenges described in the petition.
What happened
In Colon v. Miller, Jerry Colon challenged his New York conviction in federal court after a jury trial. He represented himself, and the government opposed his petition.
Colon had already sought to overturn his conviction in state court and completed his state appeals. While the federal case was pending, he died while in detention.
Judge Nelson S. Roman adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation after finding no clear error because no objections were filed. The court dismissed the petition as moot and directed the clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Colon v. Miller · No. 7:23-cv-05597
- Nelson Roman
- Aug. 7, 2025
Background
Jerry Colon, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his New York State conviction following a jury trial. The opinion states that he was convicted in Westchester County Supreme Court of, among other offenses, first-degree robbery. He unsuccessfully sought to vacate the conviction under New York Criminal Procedure Law § 440.10 and exhausted his state appellate remedies. The government opposed the federal petition.
While the federal proceeding was pending, Colon died while in detention. The matter had been referred to Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik, who recommended that the petition be dismissed.
Court’s Analysis
The district court stated that it had not received any objection to the report and recommendation. It therefore reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none. The court relied on the recommendation’s conclusion that Colon’s death made the petition moot. A case is moot when events eliminate the petitioner’s personal stake in the outcome. The court cited a Second Circuit decision and decisions from other federal appellate courts involving dismissal of habeas petitions after the petitioner’s death.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman adopted Magistrate Judge Reznik’s report and recommendation in its entirety. The court dismissed the petition as moot and directed the clerk to terminate the action. The opinion does not state that the court reached the underlying challenges to Colon’s conviction.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.