Thompson v. Keyser
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-03783
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Thompson v. Keyser, Judge Stanton denied Benjamin Thompson’s habeas petition because he was not imprisoned under the conviction he challenged.
Benjamin E. Thompson’s federal challenge to his 2003 Bronx County conviction was denied because he was serving a sentence for a different, 2010 Suffolk County conviction. William Keyser was the named respondent.
What happened
In Thompson v. Keyser, Benjamin E. Thompson, representing himself, challenged his New York state conviction and sought release through a federal petition. The opinion says the conviction involved attempted robbery in the second degree and resulted in a six-year sentence followed by five years of post-release supervision.
The court found that Thompson had already completed that sentence. Records showed he was instead imprisoned under a 2010 Suffolk County conviction, for which he was serving 16 years to life. Federal courts can review a state-prisoner petition only when the person is imprisoned under the conviction or sentence being challenged.
Judge Louis L. Stanton ruled that the court therefore lacked authority to consider the petition and denied it. The court also said that no certificate allowing an appeal would issue because the petition did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied.
The detailed version
- Thompson v. Keyser · No. 1:20-cv-03783
- Louis Stanton
- Sept. 3, 2020
Background
Benjamin E. Thompson, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging a New York state-court conviction. The opinion’s opening identifies the challenged conviction as occurring on November 7, 2003, while the background and discussion identify it as a November 2, 2003 conviction in Bronx County for attempted robbery in the second degree. The opinion states that Thompson received a sentence of six years followed by five years of post-release supervision and sought release.
The court had previously allowed Thompson to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court reviewed records from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which showed that Thompson was currently imprisoned under a 2010 Suffolk County conviction for attempted robbery in the first degree. He was serving a sentence of 16 years to life.
Legal issue
A federal court may grant relief under Section 2254 only for a person imprisoned under a state-court judgment and claiming that the imprisonment violates federal constitutional or federal legal rights. The court explained that the person must be imprisoned under the conviction or sentence being challenged when the petition is filed. This requirement concerns the court’s jurisdiction—its legal authority to hear the case.
Court’s reasoning
The court concluded that Thompson had completely served the sentence for the 2003 Bronx County conviction. Because he was currently imprisoned under the separate 2010 Suffolk County conviction, he was not imprisoned under the judgment he sought to challenge. The court therefore determined that it had no jurisdiction over the petition.
Disposition
Judge Louis L. Stanton denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The order also stated that a certificate of appealability would not issue because the petition did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Thompson and record service on the docket.
Uncertainties in the opinion
The supplied case information lists a filing date of September 3, 2020, while the order itself is dated September 2, 2020. The opinion also uses both November 2 and November 7, 2003, for the challenged conviction.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.