Skyler Thomas Rice v. Ed Gonzalez, Sheriff, Harris County, Texas

Petitioner Skyler Thomas Rice, proceeding pro se, sought immediate release from pretrial detention at the Harris County Jail in light of the danger of contracting COVID-19 at that facility. The district court construed Mr. Rice’s claim as seeking relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and dismissed the case, assessing a strike against Mr. Rice for purposes of the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Mr. Rice, still pro se, appealed the district court’s judgment. The named defendant, the Harris County Sheriff, did not file a responsive brief. Before the Fifth Circuit could rule on the appeal— indeed, seven weeks before it ruled—Mr. Rice was transferred to Texas Department of Criminal Justice custody at the Gist State Jail in Beaumont, Texas, in order to serve his sentence. Thus, his pretrial detention at the Harris County Jail was over, and his claim for release from that detention was moot. The Fifth Circuit, unaware of this development, issued a published opinion in which it construed Mr. Rice’s claim as brought in habeas, and then held that habeas was unavailable for his claim. As the Fifth Circuit recognized, this decision created a circuit split with the Sixth Circuit. After the Fifth Circuit issued its opinion but before the mandate issued, Mr. Rice retained counsel and notified the court that he had not been in Harris County custody at the time it issued its opinion. Accordingly, he indicated to the court of appeals, it lacked jurisdiction to decide the case when it issued its opinion. He therefore sought vacatur of the published opinion and dismissal of the appeal. Respondent did not oppose the request. Nonetheless, without