Judge Paul Engelmayer
On Feb. 24, 2102, Russian citizen Sokolov was ordered deported following arrest for drug possession and petit larceny. On July 17, 2012, following release from criminal custody, he was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. While in custody ICE made repeated, unsuccessful attempts to obtain travel documents needed to repatriate Sokolov. Sokolov's Feb. 7, 2013, application for 28 USC §2241 habeas relief sought immediate release from ICE custody. ICE's May 7, return under 28 USC §2243 included a document stating that Sokolov was released from ICE custody under an order of supervision based on ICE's March 8, 2013, determination that "it was unlikely to obtain a travel document to remove Sokolov in the reasonably foreseeable future." District court dismissed Sokolov's habeas petition as moot. His release from ICE custody granted him the relief sought in his petition. Further, his release subject to an order of supervision did not create a live case or controversy satisfying Article III's injury-in-fact requirement. Discussing Zadvydas v. Davis the court observed that Sokolov has not challenged the conditions of his release, and that under ordinary circumstances, a challenge to those conditions would not be viable.
