Williams v. Warden

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

JONATHAN WILLIAMS,

Petitioner,

v. CAUSE NO. 3:24-CV-793-JD-AZ

WARDEN,

Respondent.

OPINION AND ORDER Jonathan Williams, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the prison disciplinary hearing (IYC-24-323) at the Plainfield Correctional Facility in which a disciplinary hearing officer (DHO) found him guilty of engaging in unauthorized financial transactions in violation of Indiana Department of Correction Offense 220. Following a hearing, he was sanctioned with a loss of ninety days earned credit time and a demotion in credit class. In the pending motion to dismiss, the Warden argues that this case is moot because the sanctions were vacated and the disciplinary case was set for a rehearing. ECF 15. The Warden supports this argument with a letter from the Appeal Review Officer and credit time calculation printouts from the departmental inmate database. ECF 15-1; ECF 17 at 3. Consequently, the court finds that the claims raised in the petition are moot. See Hadley v. Holmes, 341 F.3d 661, 664 (7th Cir. 2003) (prisoner can challenge prison disciplinary determination in habeas proceeding only when it resulted in a sanction that lengthened the duration of his confinement). Because the claims are moot, the court grants the motion and dismisses the habeas petition.

If Williams wants to appeal this decision, he does not need a certificate of appealability because he is challenging a prison disciplinary proceeding. See Evans v. Circuit Court, 569 F.3d 665, 666 (7th Cir. 2009). However, he may not proceed in forma pauperis on appeal because the court finds that an appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal in this case could not be taken in good faith. For these reasons, the court:

(1) GRANTS the motion to dismiss (ECF 15); (2) DIRECTS the clerk to enter judgment and to close this case; and (3) DENIES Jonathan Williams leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. SO ORDERED on June 13, 2025

/s/JON E. DEGUILIO JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT