Opinion
3:22-cv-02724-L (BT)
04-04-2023
DARREN BROOKS, #02366884, Petitioner, v. DIRECTOR, TDCJ-CID, Respondent.
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
REBECCA RUTHERFORD UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Darren Brooks filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his state court conviction for engaging in organized criminal activity and his twenty-five-year sentence. (ECF No. 3.) Brooks argued that he was not properly admonished on the penalties prior to pleading guilty. However, he recently received state habeas relief from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA). See Resp. (ECF No. 12). Therefore, the Court should DISMISS the petition as moot.
A case becomes moot “if an event occurs during the pendency of the action that makes it impossible for the court to grant ‘any effectual relief whatever' to a prevailing party.” Church of Scientology v. United States, 506 U.S. 9, 12 (1992) (citing Mills v. Green, 159 U.S. 651, 653 (1895)); United States v. Jackson, 771 F.3d 900, 903 (5th Cir. 2014). Here, Brooks challenged his conviction and sentence sustained on September 23, 2021, in Dallas County, Texas. Pet. 2 (ECF No. 3). On February 8, 2023, the CCA granted him habeas relief, and he was remanded to the Dallas County Sheriff's Department “to answer the charges as set out in the indictment.” Resp. Ex. A 2 (ECF No. 12). Therefore, the Court cannot grant him the habeas relief he seeks. The Court should dismiss his petition as moot. See Pierre v. United States, 525 F.2d 933, 935-36 (5th Cir. 1976) (the function of a writ of habeas corpus is to grant relief from unlawful imprisonment or custody).
SO RECOMMENDED.