Eric Irvan v. United States

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: December 23, 2024
• Docket: 24-1402
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 24-1402 ___________________________

Eric Irvan

lllllllllllllllllllllPetitioner - Appellant

v.

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllRespondent - Appellee ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Harrison ____________

Submitted: December 18, 2024 Filed: December 23, 2024 [Unpublished] ____________

Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM. Eric Irvan appeals the district court’s1 judgment dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion on mootness grounds following his release from prison. After dismissing the motion, the district court granted a certificate of appealability related to the impact of Irvan’s registration as a sex offender on the mootness of his case.

Upon careful review, we conclude that Irvan’s claim related to his prison term was mooted by his release from prison during the pendency of his §2255 case. See Minn. Humane Soc’y v. Clark, 184 F.3d 795, 797 (8th Cir. 1999) (holding that a mootness dismissal is reviewed de novo); see also Owen v. United States, 930 F.3d 989, 989-90 (8th Cir. 2019) (concluding that a § 2255 appeal was rendered moot by a movant’s release from prison where the motion challenged the length of the prison term). To the extent Irvan raised a claim related to his conviction in his §2255 motion, we conclude that claim was exceedingly speculative and meritless. See Williams v. United States, 343 F.3d 927, 928 (8th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) (noting that an appellate court may affirm the denial of a § 2255 motion on any basis supported by the record); see also Mauer v. Minnesota, 625 F.3d 489, 493-94 (8th Cir. 2010) (explaining that speculation will not satisfy a habeas petitioner’s burden).

Accordingly, we affirm. ______________________________

1 The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III, then United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, took inactive status on October 1, 2024; adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable Mark E. Ford, United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

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