People ex rel. Page v. Fields

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed a corrected order denying and dismissing a habeas corpus proceeding concerning the continued confinement of sex offenders unable to secure housing compliant with the Sexual Assault Reform Act. The court dismissed the appeal as academic for one petitioner and upheld dismissal as academic for the other named individuals, concluding that the mootness exception did not apply because the underlying issue had already been decided by the Court of Appeals.

Holdings

1. The claims were academic because each individual was released to SARA-compliant housing while the proceeding or appeal was pending.
2. The broader issue did not qualify for an exception to mootness because the Court of Appeals had already decided it in People ex rel. Johnson v Superintendent, Adirondack Corr. Facility.
3. The court deemed the notice of appeal from the December 23, 2020 order a premature notice of appeal from the February 1, 2021 corrected order.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the claims concerning individuals released to SARA-compliant housing became academic during the proceeding or appeal.
2. Whether the broader issue concerning DOCCS's authority to detain SARA-restricted sex offenders after the date they otherwise would be released to parole or postrelease supervision fell within an exception to the mootness doctrine.
3. Whether the notice of appeal from the original order could be deemed a premature notice of appeal from the corrected order under CPLR 5520(c).

Disposition

dismissed