Jablonski v. Ayers
- Susan Illston
- 3:07-cv-03302
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Jablonski v. Ayers, Judge Illston dismissed the habeas petition with prejudice as moot after learning the petitioner had died.
Phillip Carl Jablonski’s habeas petition was dismissed with prejudice; the opinion identifies Ronald Davis as the respondent.
What happened
In Jablonski v. Ayers, counsel told the court that petitioner Phillip Carl Jablonski had died on December 27, 2019.
The court said that a habeas petition becomes moot when the petitioner dies, meaning there is no longer a live dispute for the court to decide. The opinion did not address the petition’s underlying claims.
Judge Susan Illston dismissed the petition with prejudice as moot. The order was dated January 3, 2020.
The detailed version
- Jablonski v. Ayers · No. 3:07-cv-03302
- Susan Illston
- Jan. 6, 2020
Background
Counsel for petitioner Phillip Carl Jablonski informed the court that Jablonski died on December 27, 2019. The opinion’s caption identifies the respondent as Ronald Davis, warden of California State Prison at San Quentin.
Court’s reasoning
The court stated that the death of a habeas corpus petitioner makes the petition moot. A moot case no longer presents a live dispute that the court can resolve. The court relied on prior decisions concerning the effect of a petitioner’s death on a habeas or related proceeding.
Disposition
The court dismissed the petition for a writ of habeas corpus with prejudice as moot. The opinion did not decide the underlying habeas claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.