No. 20-940

Alaska v. Sean Wright

Lower Court: Ninth Circuit
Docketed: 2021-01-13
Status: GVR
Type: Paid
Amici (1)Relisted (2)
Tags: custody custody-status federal-conviction federal-jurisdiction habeas habeas-corpus maleng-v-cook registration sex-offender sex-offender-registration speedy-trial state-conviction
Key Terms:
HabeasCorpus JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2021-04-23 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

When an offender has fully served the sentence imposed pursuant to a state conviction, does a federal habeas court have jurisdiction to consider a § 2254 challenge to that conviction merely because it served as a predicate for an independent federal conviction under which the offender is now in custody?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED Sean Wright fully served his Alaska convictions as of September 17, 2016. After moving from Alaska, Wright was convicted, under federal law, of failure to register as a sex offender in federal court in Tennessee. In February 2018 Wright filed a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in federal court in Alaska, challenging his convictions on speedy trial grounds. The district court dismissed the petition on the basis that Wright was not in custody on the Alaska convictions. The Ninth Circuit reversed. Relying on Zichko v. Idaho, 247 F.3d 1015, 1019-20 (9th Cir. 2001), it held that Wright’s incarceration and supervised release term for the federal failure-to-register conviction rendered him in custody for purposes of challenging his fully-served Alaska convictions. Wright v. Alaska, 819 Fed.Appx. 544, 545-46 (9th Cir., Sept. 2, 2020). This petition for a writ of certiorari presents the following question: When an offender has fully served the sentence imposed pursuant to a state conviction, does a federal habeas court have jurisdiction to consider a § 2254 challenge to that conviction merely because it served as a predicate for an independent federal conviction under which the offender is now in custody? i STATEMENT OF

Docket Entries

2021-05-28
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
2021-04-26
Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-940_c0ne.pdf'>opinion</a>. <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-940_c0ne.pdf'>Opinion</a> per curiam. (Detached <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-940_c0ne.pdf'>Opinion</a>)
2021-04-19
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/23/2021.
2021-03-31
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/16/2021.
2021-03-26
Reply of petitioner Alaska filed.
2021-03-15
Brief of respondent Sean Wright in opposition filed.
2021-02-12
Brief amici curiae of States of Indiana, et al. filed.
2021-01-22
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 15, 2021.
2021-01-21
Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 12, 2021 to March 15, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
2021-01-07
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 12, 2021)

Attorneys

Alaska
Donald Earl SoderstromAlaska Department of Law, Office of Criminal Appeals, Petitioner
Tamara Eve DeLuciaState of Alaska Office of the Attorney General, Petitioner
Sean Wright
Stuart BannerUCLA School of Law Supreme Court Clinic, Respondent
States of Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah
Thomas M. Fisher — Amicus