Opinion
3:24-CV-648-DRL-MGG
08-15-2024
AKEEM TURNER, Petitioner, v. WARDEN, Respondent.
OPINION AND ORDER
DAMON R. LEICHTY, JUDGE
Akeem Turner, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the disciplinary proceeding (WCC-24-7-2990) at the Westville Correctional Facility in which he was charged with battery in violation of Indiana Department of Correction Offense 102. According to the petition, he was not sanctioned with a loss of earned credit time or demotion in credit class. Pursuant to Section 2254 Habeas Corpus Rule 4, the court must dismiss the petition “[i]f it plainly appears from the petition and any attached exhibits that the petitioner is not entitled to relief in the district court.”
“[A] habeas corpus petition must attack the fact or duration of one's sentence; if it does not, it does not state a proper basis for relief under § 2254.” Washington v. Smith, 564 F.3d 1350, 1351 (7th Cir. 2009). The petition indicates that Mr. Turner has not received any sanctions that have increased the duration of his sentence as a result of this disciplinary proceeding. Because Mr. Turner's claims do not relate to the fact or duration of his sentence, the court cannot grant him habeas relief.
If Mr. Turner 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 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) DENIES the habeas corpus petition (ECF 1);
(2) DIRECTS the clerk to enter judgment and close this case; and
(3) DENIES Akeem Turner, leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal.
SO ORDERED.