Taylor v. Capra
- Jesse Furman
- 1:18-cv-00499
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Taylor v. Capra, Judge Jesse M. Furman dismissed Taylor’s custody petition as moot after learning Taylor had died.
Abdul Taylor’s federal custody challenge; the case was dismissed after the court learned that Taylor had died.
What happened
In Taylor v. Capra, Abdul Taylor challenged his custody in a New York State prison after a 2009 conviction. He filed the case without a lawyer under a federal law allowing prisoners to challenge their custody.
The court learned from New York corrections records that Taylor had died in custody on December 6, 2018, and that his custody status was listed as “discharged.” Because the court could no longer grant him release from custody, it concluded that the case was moot.
Judge Jesse M. Furman dismissed Taylor’s petition as moot because he was deceased. The court also declined to issue a certificate allowing an appeal, found that any appeal would not be taken in good faith, denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
The detailed version
- Taylor v. Capra · No. 1:18-cv-00499
- Jesse Furman
- Sept. 17, 2021
Background
Abdul Taylor, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his custody in New York State prison following his 2009 conviction in New York County Supreme Court. The petition sought release from custody.
The court learned from records maintained by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision that Taylor died in custody on December 6, 2018. The records listed his custody status as “discharged.”
Ruling
The court first stated that the petition was denied as moot because it could no longer grant Taylor the release he sought. The order then stated that the petition was DISMISSED as moot on the basis that Petitioner is deceased.
The court also determined that Taylor had not made the required substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied, so it would not issue a certificate of appealability. A certificate of appealability is a document required for certain appeals from federal habeas decisions. The court further certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied Taylor permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. The Clerk of Court was directed to close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.