Collins v. Dyanna L. Street

Background

Jordan Collins is jailed while awaiting trial on one count of second-degree murder in state court. He sent the federal court a letter raising several complaints about that criminal proceeding and requesting the return of $1,300 that he says was taken during his arrest. Collins did not label the letter as a habeas petition, but the court docketed it as one because several claims challenged the legality of his ongoing detention or prosecution.

Court’s analysis

The report explains that Collins is a pretrial detainee and is not being held under a state-court judgment, so the usual statute governing post-judgment state habeas petitions does not apply. The report says that pretrial detainees generally must first present their constitutional claims to the state courts before seeking federal relief. Claims involving judicial bias, ineffective assistance of counsel, due-process violations, and evidentiary problems therefore could not be used to interrupt the ongoing state prosecution at this stage.

The report separately discusses Collins’s speedy-trial claim. A pretrial detainee may sometimes seek federal relief to be brought to trial sooner, but Collins’s trial was scheduled to occur in less than two months. The report concludes that an order requiring a faster trial would serve no useful purpose. Any request to dismiss the murder charge based on a speedy-trial violation could instead be raised in a state appeal or in a later federal habeas case after judgment.

The report also concludes that Collins’s claim about the $1,300 could not be brought in a habeas proceeding because it did not concern the fact or length of his detention. The court stated that the claim would be subject to dismissal even if raised outside the habeas framework.

Recommendation and procedural status

Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko recommended that the case be dismissed without prejudice, that Collins’s application to proceed without paying filing fees be denied, and that no certificate of appealability be issued. A certificate of appealability is permission required for certain appeals from final state-related habeas orders. The report does not decide whether Collins’s underlying complaints about the state criminal case are correct; it recommends ending the federal matter because of the procedural problems described above.

The document is a report and recommendation, not a final district-court order or judgment. The notice says that a party may file specific written objections within 14 days after being served with the report, with a response to objections due within the period stated in the notice.