FIELDS v. SHULTZ, No. 1:2009cv03376 - Document 7 (D.N.J. 2009)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION FILED. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 10/21/09. (js)

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CLOSED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY ANTHONY KEVIN FIELDS, Petitioner, v. P. SHULTZ, Respondent. : : : : : : : : : : : Civil No. 09-3376 (RMB) MEMORANDUM OPINION It appearing that: 1. On July 9, 2009, Petitioner, an inmate serving a sentence imposed by the District of Columbia who is incarcerated at FCI Fairton, filed a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking restoration of 27 days of good conduct time forfeited as a disciplinary sanction. 2. On August 3, 2009, Respondent filed an Answer seeking dismissal of the Petition, a certification and several exhibits. 3. On August 14, 2009, the Bureau of Prisons released Petitioner from custody. See Inmate Locator, Fed. Bureau of Prisons, http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction =IDSearch&needingMoreList=false&IDType=IRN&IDNumber=18555-083&x=7 2&y=18 (last accessed Oct. 19, 2009). 4. Article III of the Constitution limits the judicial power of federal courts to cases or controversies between parties. U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2. "The exercise of judicial power under Art. III of the Constitution depends on the existence of a case or controversy," and "a federal court [lacks] the power to render advisory opinions." U.S. Nat l Bank of Oregon v. Independent Ins. Agents of America, Inc., 508 U.S. 439, 445 (1993 ) (quoting Preiser v. Newkirk, 422 U.S. 395, 401 (1975). This case-or-controversy requirement subsists through all stages of federal judicial proceedings. Lewis v. Continental Bank Corp., 494 U.S. 472, 477-78 (1990). This means that, throughout the litigation, the plaintiff must have suffered, or be threatened with, an actual injury traceable to the defendant and likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision. Spencer, 523 U.S. at 7. 5. Petitioner s release on August 14, 2009, caused the Petition to be moot because it no longer presented a case or controversy under Article III, § 2, of the Constitution. Spencer, 523 U.S. at 7. See Scott v. Holt, 297 Fed. App x 154 (3d Cir. 2008) (federal prisoner s § 2241 petition challenging loss of good conduct time is moot when he is released). 6. An appropriate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion. s/Renée Marie Bumb RENà E MARIE BUMB United States District Judge Dated: October 21, 2009 2

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