James Rubio v. Lorie Davis, Director
James Rubio v. Lorie Davis, Director
Opinion
James Rubio appeals the dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus for lack of jurisdiction. This court granted a certificate of appealability on the narrow question of whether Rubio was "in custody" under the challenged state court judgment. Because we hold that Rubio satisfies the custody requirement, we reverse.
I.
Rubio is a Texas state prisoner. He is currently subject to two distinct state court judgments: a civil commitment order and a criminal conviction. In 2011, Rubio was adjudged a sexually violent predator under the Texas Health and Safety Code and civilly committed for an indefinite period of time. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 841.081. The commitment order required Rubio to reside in supervised housing, submit to GPS tracking, and comply with numerous other requirements. He later violated the conditions of the order and absconded from his residential facility. In 2013, Rubio was convicted of a state felony for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and sentenced to ten years imprisonment.
In his federal habeas petition, Rubio challenges only the 2011 civil commitment order. Rubio's petition notes that his civil commitment sentence is indefinite. The district court
sua sponte
dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction. The court reasoned that Rubio is currently imprisoned under the 2013 criminal judgment, not the 2011 civil commitment order, and is therefore not "in custody" under the judgment he is attempting to challenge.
See
II.
We review
de novo
a district court's dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.
Flores-Garza v. I.N.S.
,
Rubio contends that he is "in custody" under the civil commitment order because the order is indefinite and he is subject to a detainer to ensure that he returns to civil detention after the completion of his criminal sentence. He offers letters from Texas's civil commitment authority stating that the conditions of his civil commitment remain "in full force." Consistent with Rubio's representations, Texas law requires correctional facilities to notify the civil commitment office and the relevant case manager upon the release of a prisoner subject to a civil commitment order. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 841.151(c). The State acknowledges that Rubio will return to custody under the civil commitment order after he completes his criminal sentence.
A prisoner serving consecutive sentences is considered to be "in custody" under all of his sentences.
Garlotte v. Fordice
,
Because it is undisputed that Rubio will be civilly committed upon the completion of his criminal sentence, he was "in custody" under the civil commitment order when he filed his § 2254 petition. Accordingly, we REVERSE and REMAND for the district court to consider his petition in the first instance.
The Eighth Circuit's decision in
George v. Black
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- James RUBIO, Petitioner-Appellant v. Lorie DAVIS, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, Respondent-Appellee
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published