Meeker v. Houston House
- Gregory Woods
- 1:23-cv-04034
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Meeker v. McFarland, Judge Woods granted Meeker’s motion to dismiss his First Step Act credit petition without prejudice.
The order affects Gregory Meeker’s petition against Patrick McFarland, Residential Reentry Manager, New York Regional Reentry Office. The action was dismissed without prejudice after Meeker reported receiving the First Step Act credits he sought.
What happened
In Meeker v. McFarland, Gregory Meeker asked under a federal detention statute for credit he said he was owed under the First Step Act. The case was transferred to the Southern District of New York, where the court ordered a response from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Before that response was due, Meeker asked to dismiss the case. He stated that he had received all the First Step Act credits he was owed and expected to be released soon.
The court found that Meeker had received the relief he sought and that no active dispute remained. Judge Gregory H. Woods granted the motion to dismiss without prejudice, denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees, denied a certificate of appealability, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- Meeker v. Houston House · No. 1:23-cv-04034
- Gregory Woods
- July 14, 2023
Background
Gregory Meeker filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a federal procedure for challenging the execution of a sentence or detention, in the District of Rhode Island on April 23, 2023. He asserted that he had not received proper credits under the First Step Act. The case was transferred to the Southern District of New York on May 9, 2023.
On May 17, 2023, the court ordered the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York to respond within 30 days. Before that response was filed, Meeker moved to dismiss the action on June 1, 2023. In a supporting declaration, he stated: “I have received all of the FSA credits I was owed and am being released any day, thank you.”
Ruling
The court understood Meeker’s statement to mean that he had received all the relief he sought and that no active dispute remained to be resolved. It therefore granted Meeker’s motion to dismiss the action without prejudice.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. It denied a certificate of appealability under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 because Meeker had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. The Clerk was directed to terminate all outstanding motions, close the case, and mail the order to Meeker.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.