On August 2, 2000, plaintiff, a Panamanian national facing removal proceedings, brought a habeas corpus petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 in the U.S. District Court District of Colorado. The government sought to deport plaintiff on account of domestic violence and drug convictions. Petitioner was denied bond pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), which required mandatory detention without a bond hearing for certain non-citizens with criminal convictions. Petitioner contended that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) was unconstitutional and sought a TRO and preliminary injunction ordering that he be provided with a bond hearing. Colorado Rural Legal Services, Inc. provided petitioner representation.

The District Court (Judge Lewis T. Babcock) issued a TRO on September 18, 2000 and ordered that he be provided an individualized bond hearing within 72 hours pursuant to Martinez v. Greene, 28 F. Supp. 2d 1275 (D. Colo. 1998). Petitioner then amended his complaint to seek class certification on behalf of all similarly situated detainees who had been denied bond hearings. Judge Babcock denied the request for class certification, noting that the Tenth Circuit would ultimately resolve the issue of the constitutionality of 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) in another case, such that class certification in this case would be unnecessary. Belgrave v. Greene, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18648 (D.Colo. Dec. 5, 2000).

The PACER docket reflects that the case dismissed as moot on February 20, 2001, presumably because petitioner had been deported to his native Panama.

Dan Dalton - 11/13/2007


compress summary