Cooper v. Lapra
- Katherine Failla
- 1:18-cv-09405
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Cooper v. Lapra, Judge Failla denied Cooper’s request to reinstate his habeas petition because he had not exhausted state remedies.
Kazzim Cooper’s request to reinstate his federal habeas petition was denied because his state-court remedies were not yet exhausted. The order also identified a new petition as the procedure for seeking relief after exhaustion.
What happened
In Cooper v. Lapra, Kazzim Cooper asked the court to reinstate his petition. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims in detail.
The court explained that a person seeking federal review must first present the federal claim through the available state-court process. Cooper had asked New York’s highest court for permission to appeal, but that request had not yet been decided.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Cooper’s request because his state remedies were not yet exhausted. The court said the appropriate way to seek relief after exhaustion would be to file a new petition rather than ask to reopen this case.
The detailed version
- Cooper v. Lapra · No. 1:18-cv-09405
- Katherine Failla
- May 20, 2021
Background
Kazzim Cooper sent the court a letter dated May 18, 2021, asking it to reinstate his petition. Michael Lapra opposed the request. The opinion does not provide details about the underlying claims in the petition.
Reasoning
The court applied the exhaustion requirement for a federal petition challenging state custody under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a). Exhaustion generally requires the person seeking federal relief to fairly present the federal nature of the claim to each appropriate state court, including the state’s highest court when discretionary review is available.
The court stated that, in New York, a petitioner is entitled to one appeal to the Appellate Division and one request for permission to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals. Cooper had requested permission to appeal to the Court of Appeals, but that request had not yet been decided. The court therefore concluded that Cooper had not yet exhausted his state-court remedies.
Ruling
Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Cooper’s request to reinstate the petition. The court stated that, after Cooper exhausts his state-court remedies, the appropriate procedure is to file a new petition for federal habeas relief rather than seek to reopen this case. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail Cooper a copy of the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.