Ismail v. Moorhead Police Dept.
- Jeffrey Bryan
- 0:25-cv-03447
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 1
In Ismail v. Moorhead Police Dept., Judge Bryan denied Zhiwar Ismail's petition seeking release from custody, finding no clear error in the magistrate's recommendation.
Individuals who have filed or are considering filing a federal habeas petition challenging a detention by a local police department, particularly in the District of Minnesota; also relevant to those seeking to understand how courts handle unopposed magistrate judge recommendations.
What happened
In Ismail v. Moorhead Police Dept. (Case No. 25-cv-3447), Zhiwar Ismail filed a petition asking the federal court to order his release from custody — a legal challenge known as a petition for a writ of habeas corpus — against the Moorhead Police Department. A magistrate judge, Shannon G. Elkins, reviewed the petition and issued a Report and Recommendation advising the court to deny it. Neither Ismail nor the Moorhead Police Department filed any objections to that recommendation within the required time period.
Because no objections were filed, the court applied a limited "clear error" standard of review, meaning it only looked for obvious mistakes in the magistrate's analysis rather than conducting a full independent review. The court found no clear error in the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation.
Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan adopted the magistrate's Report and Recommendation in full. The court denied Ismail's petition for release, denied his request to proceed without paying court filing fees (a request known as proceeding "in forma pauperis," meaning as a person without the financial means to pay), and declined to issue a certificate of appealability, which is a document needed to appeal a habeas denial to a higher court.
The detailed version
- Ismail v. Moorhead Police Dept. · No. 0:25-cv-03447
- Jeffrey M. Bryan
- Nov. 6, 2025
Background
Zhiwar Ismail filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus — a legal action challenging the lawfulness of his detention and seeking release — against the Moorhead Police Department. He also filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP), meaning a request to proceed without prepaying court fees due to alleged lack of financial resources.
Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Shannon G. Elkins reviewed the petition and issued a Report and Recommendation (R&R) recommending that the habeas petition be denied. The opinion does not detail the specific legal reasoning contained in the R&R beyond the recommendation itself.
No Objections Filed
Neither Ismail nor the Moorhead Police Department filed objections to the R&R within the time allowed under District of Minnesota Local Rule 72.2(b)(1). When no timely objections are filed, the district court reviews a magistrate judge's R&R only for clear error, a deferential standard derived from Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b) and the Eighth Circuit's decision in Grinder v. Gammon, 73 F.3d 793, 795 (8th Cir. 1996).
Court's Ruling
Judge Bryan found no clear error in the R&R and adopted it in full. The court issued the following orders:
- The R&R (Doc. No. 3) is adopted.
- The habeas petition (Doc. No. 1) is denied.
- Ismail's IFP application (Doc. No. 2) is denied.
- No certificate of appealability (COA) shall be issued. A COA is required under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 before a habeas petitioner can appeal a denial to the circuit court. The court's refusal to issue a COA means Ismail would need to seek one directly from the court of appeals to pursue an appeal.
Limitations of This Summary
The opinion does not include the underlying R&R, so the specific legal grounds for denying the habeas petition — such as whether the petition lacked merit, was procedurally defective, or failed to state a cognizable federal habeas claim — are not available from this order alone.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.