District of Connecticut • 3:25-cv-02122

#1

Dec 19, 2025

PETITION for Writ of Habeas Corpus ( Filing fee $ 5 receipt number ACTDC-8441098.), filed by Nathaniel Sterling.(Ahmad, Muneer) (Entered: 12/19/2025)

#2

Dec 19, 2025

Emergency MOTION for ENJOINING RESPONDENTS FROM TRANSFERRING PETITIONER MORE THAN 100 MILES FROM THIS COURT'S JURISDICTION Order by Nathaniel Sterling. (Ahmad, Muneer) (Entered: 12/19/2025)

#3

Dec 19, 2025

NOTICE OF E-FILED CALENDAR: THIS IS THE ONLY NOTICE COUNSEL/THE PARTIES WILL RECEIVE. A telephonic Status Conference is set for December 19, 2025 at 04:30 PM in a Remote Setting before Judge Kari A. Dooley. Conference Line: +1 203-684-6202; Conference ID: 764798245#. (Spears, A.) (Entered: 12/19/2025)

#4

Dec 19, 2025

NOTICE of Appearance by John W Larson on behalf of Pamela J. Bondi, Floyd Cleveland, Todd Lyons, Kristi Noem (Larson, John) (Entered: 12/19/2025)

#5

Dec 19, 2025

NOTICE of Appearance by Madelyn Finucane on behalf of Nathaniel Sterling (Finucane, Madelyn) (Entered: 12/19/2025)

#6

Dec 19, 2025

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE; ORDER granting in part 2 Emergency Motion to Enjoin Respondents from Transferring Petitioner More Than 100 Miles from this Court's Jurisdiction. Petitioner has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his arrest and detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") officials on December 19, 2025. See ECF No. 1. Petitioner also seeks an immediate order pursuant to the All Writs Act restraining ICE officials from transferring him to a location more than 100 miles from Connecticut. See ECF No. 2. Upon review of the Petition and the Emergency Motion, and following a hearing held on December 19, 2025, see ECF No. 3, the Court Orders as follows: (1) Pursuant to the Court's authority under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, to preserve the Court's jurisdiction and the integrity of these proceedings, the Court hereby restrains ICE from transferring Petitioner to any ICE detention facility beyond 150 miles of the Connecticut border during the pendency of the instant habeas corpus petition. See Aparicio-Deras v. Turek, No. 2:25-CV-726 (GWC) (D. Vt. Sept. 1, 2025), at ECF No. 2; see, e.g., Mahdawi v. Trump, No. 2:25-CV-389, 2025 WL 1099021, at *1 (D. Vt. Apr. 14, 2025) ("In order to preserve this Court's jurisdiction, and pursuant to the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, it is ordered that the Petitioner... not be removed from the United States or moved out of the territory of the District of Vermont pending further order of this Court."). Indeed, the Court concludes that Petitioner's transfer to an ICE detention facility outside the geographic region imposed herein would create an imminent risk of irreparable injury, insofar as it could prohibit or impair Petitioner's attendance at the Court's habeas hearings, as well as Petitioner's effective consultation with counsel in preparation for and during such hearings. See Aparicio-Deras, at ECF No. 2. Moreover, the Court discerns no meaningful harm, at this juncture, that will result to Respondents from housing Petitioner at a location within the geographic region imposed herein. Nevertheless, the Court's decision herein is without prejudice should circumstances develop or information not known at this nascent stage come to light that would impact this assessment; (2) Respondents, having appeared in this action through the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, shall be served with this Order by operation of the Court's electronic filing system; and (3) Respondents shall answer or respond to the 1 Petition on or before December 31, 2025. Petitioner shall file any reply on or before January 9, 2026. In their briefing, the parties are respectfully requested to address the impact, if any, of the Connecticut Supreme Court's decision in Ryan v. Ebecke, 102 Conn. 12 (Conn. 1925) on the issues raised in the 1 Petition. It is so ordered. Signed by Judge Kari A. Dooley on December 19, 2025. (Spears, A.) (Entered: 12/19/2025)

#7

Dec 19, 2025

Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Kari A. Dooley: Telephonic Status Conference held on 12/19/2025. 39 minutes(Court Reporter Alicia Cayode Kyles.) (Gould, K) (Entered: 12/22/2025)

#11

Dec 19, 2025

Notice to Counsel and Litigants Regarding AI-Assisted Research: Attorneys and pro se litigants alike should exercise great caution in submitting any AI-generated language in filings before the Court. Use of AI without verification of the accuracy of the information it generates like any other shoddy research method from other sources or tools implicates Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, the central purpose of which is to deter baseless filings in district court and thus to streamline the administration and procedure of the federal courts. Rule 11 applies fully to actions filed by pro se litigants.Therefore, all parties are on notice that the Court has a no-tolerance policy for any briefing (AI-assisted or not) that hallucinates legal propositions or otherwise severely misstates the law. Such filings will often result in sanctions absent reasonable excuse. See generally Willis v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n et al, No. 3:25-CV-516-BN, 2025 WL 1408897 (N.D. Tex. May 15, 2025). Signed by Clerk on 12/19/2025.(Freberg, B) (Entered: 12/22/2025)

Dec 19, 2025

Calendar Entry

Dec 19, 2025

Order on Motion for Order

Dec 19, 2025

CASE ASSIGNMENT: District Judge Kari A. Dooley assigned to the case. If the District Judge issues an Order of Referral to a Magistrate Judge for any matter other than settlement, the matter will be referred to Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti. (Sichanh, C)

Dec 19, 2025

NEW Case Assignment

#8

Dec 22, 2025

Standing Protective Order (Intake)

#9

Dec 22, 2025

Electronic Filing Order

#10

Dec 22, 2025

Notice of Option to Consent to MJ Jurisdiction (intake)

Dec 22, 2025

Status Conference

Dec 22, 2025

Notice re: AI-Assisted Research

#12

Dec 24, 2025

Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

#13

Dec 26, 2025

Extension of Time

#14

Dec 27, 2025

ORDER granting 13 Motion for Extension of Time. Respondent's response to the Petition is due by January 9, 2026. Petitioner's reply to the response is due by January 20, 2026. Signed by Judge Kari A. Dooley on 12/27/25. (Dooley, Kari) (Entered: 12/27/2025)

Dec 27, 2025

Order on Motion for Extension of Time

#15

Jan 09, 2026

Response to Order to Show Cause

#16

Jan 13, 2026

ORDER: On January 9, 2026, Respondents filed their response to the 1 Petition, demonstrating, inter alia, that on January 8, 2026, following a bond hearing in immigration court, Petitioner was denied release on bond. See ECF No. 15-6. Accordingly, in his reply brief, Petitioner is respectfully requested to include a discussion as to the extent to which these events impact the justiciability of the claims raised in this petition for habeas corpus, and/or the ability of the Court to afford meaningful relief to Petitioner. Signed by Judge Kari A. Dooley on January 13, 2026. (Spears, A.) (Entered: 01/13/2026)

#17

Jan 13, 2026

Notice of Appearance

Jan 13, 2026

Order

#18

Jan 15, 2026

Amend/Correct

#19

Jan 20, 2026

Response

#20

Jan 28, 2026

Objection

#21

Feb 04, 2026

NOTICE OF E-FILED CALENDAR: THIS IS THE ONLY NOTICE COUNSEL/THE PARTIES WILL RECEIVE. ALL PERSONS ENTERING THE COURTHOUSE MUST PRESENT PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. Oral Argument on the 18 Motion to Amend is hereby set for February 13, 2026 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom Two, 915 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, CT before Judge Kari A. Dooley. (Spears, A.) (Entered: 02/04/2026)

Feb 04, 2026

Calendar Entry

#22

Feb 05, 2026

Continue

#23

Feb 06, 2026

ORDER granting 18 Motion to Amend; granting in part and denying in part 22 Motion to Continue. The Court has reviewed Petitioner's 18 Motion to Amend, Respondents' 20 Objection thereto, the cases relied upon by both parties, and Respondents' 22 Motion to Continue the Oral Argument presently scheduled for February 13, 2026. See ECF No. 21. For the reasons that follow, the 18 Motion to Amend is GRANTED, and the 22 Motion to Continue is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Under Rule 15(a)(2), "a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party's written consent or the court's leave. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). "It is within the sound discretion of the district court to grant or deny leave to amend." WC Capital Mgmt., LLC v. UBS Sec., LLC, 711 F.3d 322, 334 (2d Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "A district court has discretion to deny leave for good reason, including futility, bad faith, undue delay, or undue prejudice to the opposing party." McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 200-01 (2d Cir. 2007) (citing Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962)). Here, Petitioner seeks to add an additional claim supporting the requested habeas relief, arising out of the bond hearing held in his underlying immigration proceedings on January 8, 2026, which Petitioner claims was "constitutionally inadequate." See ECF No. 18. Respondents object to the proposed amendment as futile, and because Petitioner has not availed himself of his appellate remedies in the immigration proceedings. Without addressing these arguments and their implications, in the interest of judicial efficiency, and identifying no undue prejudice to Respondents, the Court, in its discretion, see Foman, 371 U.S. at 182, grants the Motion to Amend. As such, the Court further orders the following: (1) the Oral Argument scheduled for February 13, 2026, see ECF No. 21, is CANCELED; (2) Petitioner shall file the proposed Second Amended Petition ("SAP") on or before February 10, 2026; (3) Respondents shall file their response to the SAP on or before March 2, 2026, addressing only the newly added claim for habeas relief (the others having already been fully briefed); and (4) Petitioner shall file any reply brief on or before March 9, 2026 (and shall therein indicate whether an appeal has been taken from the order denying bond). Oral argument on the SAP shall be held on March 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM. A separate calendar shall enter. It is so ordered. Signed by Judge Kari A. Dooley on February 6, 2026. (Spears, A.) (Entered: 02/06/2026)

#24

Feb 06, 2026

NOTICE OF E-FILED CALENDAR: THIS IS THE ONLY NOTICE COUNSEL/THE PARTIES WILL RECEIVE. ALL PERSONS ENTERING THE COURTHOUSE MUST PRESENT PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. Oral Argument on the Second Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is set for March 18, 2026 at 10:00 AM in Courtroom Two, 915 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, CT before Judge Kari A. Dooley. (Spears, A.) (Entered: 02/06/2026)

Feb 06, 2026

Calendar Entry

Feb 06, 2026

Order on Motion to Amend/Correct AND Order on Motion to Continue

#25

Feb 10, 2026

Amended Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus

#26

Feb 13, 2026

Continue

Feb 13, 2026

Order on Motion to Continue