Stewart v. Caputo

Background

Al-Fatah Stewart, who was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, filed a petition without a lawyer under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. He challenged the constitutionality of his ongoing criminal proceedings in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County.

Reason for the ruling

The court stated that Stewart had previously filed a substantially similar § 2241 petition raising the same challenges. That earlier case remained pending before another judge of the court under docket number 22-CV-7853 (GHW). The court concluded that this petition duplicated the pending case and that no useful purpose would be served by filing and litigating the duplicate action. The court did not decide the constitutional challenges to the ongoing criminal proceedings.

Ruling

The court’s conclusion states that it denied Stewart’s § 2241 petition as duplicative of No. 22-CV-7853 (GHW). The body of the order also states that the petition was dismissed without prejudice to Stewart’s pending case. The court said that any new claims should be raised through an amended petition in the pending case, to the extent permitted by Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court directed the Clerk of Court to return the $5.00 filing fee. It also ruled that a certificate of appealability would not issue, certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith, denied permission to appeal without paying fees, and directed the Clerk to enter judgment.