Fleming v. Jusino

Background

Rhonda Fleming filed a federal habeas action challenging the validity of her conviction or sentence. The opinion identifies Warden Jusino as the respondent. Fleming’s petition argued that her conviction was unconstitutional because of an intervening change in the law.

Court’s analysis

The court discussed the limited circumstances in which a prisoner may use a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to challenge a conviction or sentence. Under the statutory “escape hatch,” the prisoner must claim actual innocence and must not have had an unobstructed procedural opportunity to present that claim. The court stated that Fleming was not arguing that she needed to proceed under that exception.

Because Fleming instead relied on an intervening change in constitutional law, the court stated that the petition properly should be filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, and/or that permission should be sought from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 2255(h)(2) for a second or successive motion based on a new retroactive constitutional rule.

Disposition

The court transferred the action to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas because it was the district of conviction. Judge Nathanael M. Cousins directed the clerk to transfer the matter immediately. The opinion did not decide whether Fleming’s conviction or sentence was unconstitutional.