United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division
OPINION AND ORDER [1]
SHERI
POLSTER CHAPPELL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This
matter comes before the Court on Respondent Attorney General
of the United States' Motion to Dismiss for Mootness
(Doc. #13) filed on November 30, 2017. On October
25, 2017, Petitioner Herminio Rodriguez filed a petition for
writ of habeas corpus requesting relief from his detention by
the United States Department of Homeland Security,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Rodriguez
is a citizen of Cuba. He was first taken into custody by ICE
on January 18, 2011, and ordered removed on February 15,
2011. On May 17, 2011, Rodriguez was released from ICE
custody. On July 14, 2017, Rodriguez was again taken into
custody by ICE. Rodriguez filed the instant Petition
contesting his detention. On November 9, 2017, Rodriguez was
again released under ICE supervision. Rodriguez is currently
out on supervised release.
Article
III of the Constitution, known as the case and controversies
limitation, prevents federal courts from deciding moot
questions because the Court lacks subject matter
jurisdiction. U.S.C.A. Const. Art. III. Mootness can occur
due to a change in circumstances or a change in law.
Coral Springs St. Sys., Inc. v. City of Sunrise, 371
F.3d 1320 (11th Cir. 2004). A case is also moot when the
issue presented is no longer live, the parties lack a legally
cognizable interest in its outcome, or a decision could no
longer provide meaningful relief to a party. Troiano v.
Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach County, Fla., 382
F.3d. 1276 (11th Cir. 2004); Christian Coalition of Ala.
v. Cole, 355 F.3d 1288 (11th Cir. 2004); Crown Media
LLC v. Gwinnett County, Ga, 380 F.3d. 1317 (11th Cir.
2004). Dismissal is not discretionary but “is required
because mootness is jurisdictional. Any decision on the
merits would be an impermissible advisory opinion.”
Troiano, 382 F.3d at 1282 (citing Al Najjar v.
Ashcroft, 273 F.3d 1330, 1335-36 (11th Cir. 2001)).
Although there is an exception to the mootness doctrine for
those cases that are “capable of repetition yet evading
review, ” “this exception is narrow, and applies
only in exceptional circumstances.” Soliman v. U.S.
ex rel. INS, 296 F.3d 1237, 1242 (11th Cir. 2002)
(citing Al Najjar, 273 F.3d at 1336). Two conditions
must be met to invoke the exceptions: (1) the challenged
action must be of a short duration to be fully litigated; and
(2) there exists a reasonable expectation that the same
complaining party would be subjected to the same action
again. Christian Coalition of Ala., 355 F.3d at 1293
(emphasis added). In other words, “[t]he remote
possibility that an event might recur is not enough to
overcome mootness, and even a likely reoccurrence is
insufficient if there would be ample opportunity for review
at that time.” Al Najjar, 273 F.3d at 1336. In
this instance, it is undisputed that Rodriguez is no long in
ICE custody. (Doc. #13-1) (Respondents' attached
a copy of the Order of Supervision).
Given
that Rodriguez's Petition is seeking relief from ICE
detention, his Petition is now moot. See Hernandez v.
Wainwright, 796 F.2d 389, 390 (11th Cir. 1986) (holding
that when a habeas challenges the length of confinement
rather than the underlying conviction and the petitioner is
released, then the petition should be dismissed as moot). Any
claim that Rodriguez's conditional release will be
revoked in the future would be purely speculative. See
L'Hommeus v. Mukasey, No. 207CV618FTM29DNF, 2008 WL
11334896, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 13, 2008) (finding that any
claim by petitioner released from ICE custody on supervised
release that his conditional release could be revoked would
be speculative). As such, there is no case or controversy for
judicial review. The Petition is moot and the
Respondents' Motion to Dismiss is due to be granted.
Accordingly,
it is now
ORDERED:
(1)
Respondent Attorney General of the United States' Motion
to Dismiss for Mootness (Doc. #13) is
GRANTED.
(2) The
Petitioner Herminio Rodriguez's Petition for Habeas
Corpus Relief (Doc. #1) is
DISMISSED without prejudice.
(3) The
Clerk of Court is directed to enter judgment accordingly,
terminate any pending motions and deadlines and close the
file.
DONE
and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida this 1st
day of December, 2017.
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