Lee v. United States
- Loretta Preska
- 1:17-cv-08567
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hisan Lee v. United States, Judge Preska stayed Lee’s reconsideration motion while his appeal of the earlier post-conviction ruling proceeds.
Hisan Lee’s motion for reconsideration and the government’s response to that motion were affected; the motion was stayed while Lee pursued his appeal.
What happened
In Hisan Lee v. United States, the government asked the court to pause Lee’s motion asking it to reconsider its denial of his motion under a federal post-conviction statute. The request was based on Lee’s pending efforts to pursue an appeal of that denial.
The court ordered a stay of the reconsideration motion while the appeal proceeds. The government’s opposition to the reconsideration motion had been due on October 24, 2022. The opinion says the appeal and reconsideration motion both sought review of the earlier denial.
Judge Loretta A. Preska entered the order on October 20, 2022. The text does not separately use the word “granted,” but the “SO ORDERED” notation follows the government’s request for the stay.
The detailed version
- Lee v. United States · No. 1:17-cv-08567
- Loretta Preska
- Oct. 20, 2022
Background
Hisan Lee, identified in the service materials as representing himself, had filed a motion asking the court to reconsider its order denying his motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a statute that permits a federal prisoner to challenge a conviction or sentence in certain circumstances. Lee had also appealed the denial of that motion in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
The government stated that the Second Circuit dismissed the appeal on September 13, 2022, because Lee had not timely filed a motion for a certificate of appealability. The government further stated that Lee later sought a certificate of appealability and moved to reinstate the appeal and recall the mandate, and that the Second Circuit determined the later action cured the defective request. The government therefore characterized Lee as actively pursuing the appeal.
Request and ruling
The government asked the district court to stay, or pause, Lee’s motion for reconsideration until the Second Circuit resolved the appeal. It argued that both matters sought review of the district court’s earlier denial of the § 2255 motion and cited a decision recognizing that judicial efficiency generally weighs against deciding § 2255 matters while an appeal is pending.
The document ends with “SO ORDERED” after the government’s request. The order therefore stays Lee’s motion for reconsideration pending resolution of the appeal. The text does not separately state that the motion was “granted.”
Disposition and classification
This is a procedural order, not a decision on whether Lee was entitled to relief under § 2255 or whether reconsideration should be granted. Judge Loretta A. Preska ordered the pause while the related appeal proceeds. The materials identify the related criminal matter as United States v. Lee, No. 07 Cr. 0003 (LAP), but this order concerns the civil post-conviction proceeding.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.