Collins v. United States Parole Commission
- William Alsup
- 3:20-cv-06051
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Collins v. United States Parole Commission, Judge Alsup dismissed the habeas petition as moot after Collins was released from custody and parole supervision.
Bernest Collins and the United States Parole Commission; the petition's dismissal ended the federal court case after Collins's warrant and parole supervision had ended.
What happened
Bernest Collins filed a petition asking for release from a federal parole-violation warrant and an end to his parole supervision, claiming violations of due process and equal protection. He represented himself when he filed the petition while incarcerated at Santa Rita County Jail.
The Parole Commission later released Collins from the warrant, released him from custody, and terminated his parole supervision. Because he had received all the relief the petition could provide, the court found no continuing dispute to decide and dismissed the petition as moot.
Judge William Alsup granted Collins permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. He denied as unnecessary Collins’s motions concerning trust-fund documentation, found that no certificate allowing an appeal was warranted, and directed the clerk to enter judgment and close the case.
The detailed version
- Collins v. United States Parole Commission · No. 3:20-cv-06051
- William Alsup
- Sept. 2, 2021
Background
Bernest Collins filed a self-represented petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a procedure allowing a person to challenge unlawful custody or related restraints. He was incarcerated at the Santa Rita County Jail after the revocation of his federal parole. The petition challenged the parole revocation on due-process and equal-protection grounds.
When Collins filed the petition, the United States Parole Commission had issued a parole-violation warrant but had not yet revoked his parole. Collins sought release from the warrant and termination of parole supervision. The Commission later ordered his release from the warrant on October 29, 2020, and he was released from custody the next day. On March 17, 2021, the Commission terminated his parole supervision.
Court's reasoning
The court held that the petition was moot. Mootness means that a court can no longer provide effective relief because the dispute has ended. Collins was no longer subject to either the parole warrant or parole supervision, so he had obtained the only relief the petition could provide. The court therefore concluded that no remaining case or controversy existed.
Rulings
The court dismissed the petition. It granted Collins’s request to proceed without paying the filing fee. It denied as unnecessary his motions concerning trust-fund documentation because of that grant. The court also determined that no certificate of appealability was warranted because a reasonable judge would not find the dismissal debatable or wrong. The clerk was directed to enter judgment and close the file.
Judge William Alsup signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.