Deloye v. Bolin
- Katherine Menendez
- 0:25-cv-03443
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Deloye v. Bolin, Judge Menendez granted petitioner Thomas J. Deloye's own motion and dismissed his case without prejudice.
Individuals who have filed — or are considering filing — federal habeas or similar petitions challenging their custody, particularly those who may wish to voluntarily dismiss and refile their cases.
What happened
In Deloye v. Bolin, No. 25-cv-3443, petitioner Thomas J. Deloye filed a federal court petition against respondent William Bolin. Before the case proceeded further, Deloye himself filed a Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice, asking the court to close the case while leaving open the possibility of refiling.
United States Magistrate Judge Elsa M. Bullard reviewed the case and issued a Report and Recommendation on November 4, 2025, concluding that Deloye's motion should be granted and the matter dismissed. No party filed any objections to that recommendation within the allotted time.
Judge Katherine M. Menendez accepted the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation in full, granted Deloye's Motion to Dismiss, and dismissed the case without prejudice — meaning Deloye is not permanently barred from refiling. The court also declined to issue a certificate of appealability, which is a required permission slip for appealing certain types of federal court decisions.
The detailed version
- Deloye v. Bolin · No. 0:25-cv-03443
- Katherine Menendez
- Dec. 12, 2025
Background
Petitioner Thomas J. Deloye filed a petition in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota against Respondent William Bolin. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims in the petition, but the denial of a certificate of appealability (a procedural requirement that typically applies to habeas corpus petitions — that is, legal challenges to one's custody or detention) suggests this was such a proceeding.
The Motion
Before the case reached any substantive resolution, Deloye himself filed a Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice (Docket Entry 12). A dismissal without prejudice means the case is closed but the petitioner retains the right to refile at a future time, subject to applicable rules and deadlines.
Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation
United States Magistrate Judge Elsa M. Bullard reviewed the motion and issued a Report and Recommendation on November 4, 2025, recommending that the motion be granted and the matter dismissed. No objections to that recommendation were filed by either party.
District Court's Ruling
Because no objections were filed, Judge Menendez reviewed the Report and Recommendation under a "clear error" standard — a deferential review asking only whether the Magistrate Judge made an obvious mistake. Finding no error, Judge Menendez accepted the Report and Recommendation, granted Deloye's Motion to Dismiss, and ordered the case dismissed without prejudice.
Certificate of Appealability
The court expressly declined to issue a certificate of appealability. In federal habeas proceedings, a petitioner typically cannot appeal a final order without first obtaining such a certificate from the district court (or a circuit judge). The court's refusal to issue one here means that any appeal would require Deloye to seek the certificate from the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Effect of the Order
The dismissal without prejudice was entered at Deloye's own request. The opinion does not explain why Deloye sought dismissal, and the court did not address the underlying merits of the petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.