Wayne I. Corbeil, Jr. v. Walter Zuehlke

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin granted Wayne I. Corbeil, Jr.’s motion to proceed without prepaying the habeas filing fee. The court dismissed his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition without prejudice because the requested relief was not appropriate habeas relief, the petition appeared untimely and unexhausted, and it did not establish a constitutional or federal-law basis for relief. The court denied his motions for appointment of counsel as moot and declined to issue a certificate of appealability.

Holdings

1. A petition seeking a cell phone with Internet access does not request relief authorized under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which permits courts to order release from unlawful custody or unlawful conditions of supervision.
2. The petition was not timely filed. The judgment imposing the challenged conditions of supervision became final in 2014, and the petition was filed over eleven years later in 2025, well beyond the one-year limitations period under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)(A).
3. Petitioner failed to exhaust state court remedies because he did not appeal the conditions of supervision through the Wisconsin appellate courts (Court of Appeals and Supreme Court) before filing his federal petition.
4. The petition failed to identify any grounds for § 2254 relief because it did not allege that the conditions of supervision violated the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a habeas petition is the proper vehicle to challenge conditions of supervision where the relief sought is not release from custody
2. Whether the petition was timely filed within the one-year limitations period
3. Whether petitioner exhausted state court remedies before filing federal habeas petition
4. Whether the petition stated cognizable grounds for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254

Disposition

dismissed