KEY v. WARDEN ( 2023 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA TERRE HAUTE DIVISION DAJUAN KEY, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) No. 2:22-cv-00363-JPH-MKK ) WARDEN, ) ) Respondent. ) Order Granting Motion for a More Definite Statement Petitioner Dajuan Key filed a handwritten petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 challenging disciplinary action taken against him by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The respondent has filed a motion for a more definite statement, requesting that Mr. Key provide detail regarding the specific disciplinary conviction he is challenging. In response, Mr. Key states that he intends to challenge every conviction he has had for engaging in a sexual act. Dkt. 22. But each disciplinary proceeding that is challenged has the status of a separate "court" proceeding. Though there may be common claims, the proceedings must be challenged separately. See Rule 2(e) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases in the United States District Courts (providing that "a petitioner who seeks relief from judgments of more than one state court must file a separate petition covering the judgment or judgments of each court") (applicable to § 2241petitions under Rule 1(b)); see also Boriboune v. Berge, 391 F.3d 852, 854 (7th Cir. 2004) ("[E]ach petition must be directed to a single criminal judgment."); Chestnut v. Daniels, 2:17-cv-19-WTL-DLP, 2018 WL 3831441, *1 (S.D. Ind. Aug. 13, 2018) (noting that the petition challenging 18 separate disciplinary proceedings was severed into 18 separate cases). Accordingly, the motion for a more definite statement, dkt. [15], is granted. Mr. Key shall have through April 19, 2023, to identify the disciplinary conviction he seeks to challenge in this case. He may file separate habeas petitions to challenge his remaining disciplinary convictions if he chooses to do so. SO ORDERED. Date: 3/22/2023 Sjamnu Pataick Hanbor James Patrick Hanlon United States District Judge Southern District of Indiana Distribution: DAJUAN KEY 43357-424 COLEMAN - IT USP COLEMAN II U.S. PENITENTIARY Inmate Mail/Parcels P.O. BOX 1034 COLEMAN, FL 33521 Jeffrey D. Preston UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (Indianapolis) jeffrey.preston@usdo].gov