UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

ROBERT DAVID CONNER,

Petitioner,

v. No. 3:24 CV 946

WARDEN,

Respondent.

OPINION and ORDER Robert David Conner, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the prison disciplinary hearing (WCC-24-3-1431) at the Westville Correctional Facility in which a disciplinary hearing officer (DHO) found him guilty of possessing a weapon in violation of Indiana Department of Correction Offense 106. As a result, he was sanctioned with a loss of one hundred twenty days earned credit time and a demotion in credit class. In the pending motion to dismiss, the Warden argues that this case is moot because the Indiana Department of Correction has vacated the sanctions and dismissed the disciplinary case. The Warden supports this argument with correspondence to that effect from the appeal review officer. (DE # 11-2.) Consequently, the court finds that the claims raised in the petition are moot. See Hadley v. Holmes,

(7th Cir. 2003) (prisoner can challenge prison disciplinary determination in habeas proceeding only when it resulted in a sanction that lengthened the duration of his confinement). Because the claims in the petition are moot, the court grants the motion and dismisses the habeas petition as moot.

If Conner 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,

(7th Cir. 2009). However, he may not proceed in forma pauperis on appeal because the court finds that an appeal pursuant to

(a)(3) could not be taken in good faith. For these reasons, the court:

(1) GRANTS the motion to dismiss (DE # 11); (2) DIRECTS the Clerk to enter judgment and close this case; and (3) DENIES Robert David Conner leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. SO ORDERED.

Date: February 12, 2025 s/James T. Moody JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT