Devlin v. Warden White ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA CRAIG DEVLIN, : Petitioner : CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:19-1276 Vv : (JUDGE MANNION) WARDEN WHITE, : Respondent : MEMORANDUM i. Background Petitioner, Craig Devlin, a former inmate confined in the Allenwood Low Security Correctional Institution, White Deer, Pennsylvania, filed the above captioned petition for writ of habeas corpus, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2241. (Doc. 4, petition). Devlin alleges that the BOP is refusing to credit him with earned good conduct time in accordance with the First Step Act. Id. For relief, Devlin requests that the Court order the BOP to immediately credit Petitioner with good conduct time and release Petitioner. Id. A review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locater reveals that Figueroa was released from custody on February 19, 2020. See https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/. For the reasons set forth below, the instant petition will be dismissed as moot. ll. Discussion The case or controversy requirement of Article Ill, §2 of the United States Constitution subsists through all stages of federal judicial proceedings. Parties must continue to have a “personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit.” (1990); Preiser _v. Newkirk, 422 U.S. 395, 401 (1975). In other words, throughout the course of the action, the aggrieved party must suffer or be threatened with actual injury caused by the defendant. Lewis, 494 U.S. at 477. The adjudicatory power of a federal court depends upon “the continuing existence of a live and acute controversy.” Steffel v. Thompson, 415 U.S. 452, 459 (1974) (emphasis in original). “The rule in federal cases is that an actual controversy must be extant at all stages of review, not merely at the time the complaint is filed.” Id. at n.10 (citations omitted). “Past exposure to illegal conduct is insufficient to sustain a present case or controversy ... if unaccompanied by continuing, present adverse effects.” 2 . (citing O'Shea _v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488 (1974)). “[A] petition for habeas corpus relief generally becomes moot when a prisoner is released from custody before the court has addressed the merits of the petition.” Lane v. Williams, 459 U.S. 624, 631 (1982). in the instant case, because Devlin has been released from custody, his habeas petition has been rendered moot. See Rodriquez-Leon_v. Warden, 602 F. App’x 854 (3d Cir. 2015): Scott v. Schuyikill FCl_ 298 F. App’x 202 (3d Cir. 2008); Scott v. Holt, 297 F. Appx 154 (3d Cir. 2008). An appropriate Order will enter. lil. Conclusion For the reasons stated above, the petition for a writ of habeas corpus will be DISMISSED. An appropriate order will follow. 5| Malachy E. Mannion MALACHY E. MANNION United States District Judge Date: December 10, 2020 19-1276-01