Bey v. Reilly ( 2009 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Melvin Crosby Bey,
Petitioner,
v. Civil Action No. 08-311 (HHK)
Edward F. Reilly, Jr. et al.,
Respondents.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
This pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in February 2008 by the
petitioner, Melvin Crosby Bey, who was incarcerated at the time and proceeding in forma
pauperis (“IFP”). The Court takes judicial notice of a new application to proceed IFP filed in this
Court by Crosby Bey on December 31, 2008, which states under penalty of perjury that Crosby
Bey was released from prison on November 14, 2008. The IFP application is accompanied by a
pro se complaint that discloses plaintiff’s address in the community. Release from confinement is
the only relief that may be realized from the grant of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Thus,
Crosby Bey’s release from prison renders this habeas petition moot and divests this Court of
jurisdiction over it. Conyers v. Reagan, 765 F.2d 1124, 1127 (“[A] federal court may not ‘give
opinions upon moot questions or abstract propositions, or ... declare principles or rules of law
which cannot affect the matter in issue in the case before it.’”) (quoting Mills v. Green, 159 U.S.
651, 653 (1895)). Accordingly, because this habeas petition has been rendered moot by Crosby
Bey’s release from prison, it is hereby
ORDERED that the petition in this case be, and hereby is, DISMISSED for want of
jurisdiction. The Clerk is directed to CLOSE this case.
This is a final, appealable order. See Fed. R. App. P. 4.
/s/
Henry H. Kennedy, Jr.
DATE: February 4, 2009 United States District Judge
-2-