Collins v. Warden Chillicothe Correctional Institution

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION

JOSHUA E. COLLINS, Case No. 1:17-cv-48 Petitioner, Dlott, J. vs. Bowman, M.J.

WARDEN, RICHLAND REPORT AND CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, RECOMMENDATION Respondent.

On June 26, 2025, petitioner’s mother filed a Notice of Suggestion of Petitioner’s Death, informing the Court that petitioner has died. (Doc. 45). A federal court does not have jurisdiction to consider a petition for a writ of habeas corpus following the death of the petitioner. See, e.g., Rosa v. Rewerts, No. 1:18-cv-940, 2020 WL 132374 (W.D. Mich. Jan. 13, 2020); Griffey v. Lindsey, 349 F.3d 1157 (9th Cir. 2003); Hillman v. McCaughtry, 14 F.3d 350, 350-51 (7th Cir. 1994) (per curiam); Knapp v. Baker, 509 F.2d 922 (5th Cir. 1975) (per curiam); United States v. Fay, 284 F.2d 301 (2d Cir. 1960); Hann v. Hawk, 205 F.2d 839 (8th Cir. 1953); Hauptmann v. Wilentz, 570 F. Supp. 351, 401 (D.N.J. 1983); In re Kravitz, 504 F. Supp. 43, 52 (M.D. Pa. 1980). The death of a petitioner renders the petition for habeas corpus moot. See Rosa, 2020 WL 132374, at *1. See also In re Kravitz, 504 F. Supp. at 45 (“Neither the stigma of [the petitioner’s] conviction nor the pecuniary loss to [the petitioner’s] estate invest the deceased habeas applicant’s collateral challenge to the validity of [his] conviction with the ‘live controversy’ necessary to sustain this court’s limited subject- matter jurisdiction.”). Because petitioner has died, his petition for writ of habeas corpus is now moot and must be dismissed. It is therefore RECOMMENDED that petitioner Joshua E. Collins’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 be DISMISSED as moot.

July 1, 2025 s/Stephanie K. Bowman STEPHANIE K. BOWMAN United States Chief Magistrate Judge