Shawn Woodall v. Gene Beauchamp, Parole Agent

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Shawn James Allen Woodall appeals the district court’s denial of his Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 arguing on appeal that: (1) his due process rights were violated by the failure of the state trial court to provide preliminary and final probation revocation hearings; (2) this constitutional error should be considered structural and therefore not considered under a harmless error analysis; and (3) the alleged constitutional error, even under a harmless error analysis, was not harmless. We lack jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 , and thereby dismiss this appeal.

A federal court only has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 to grant a writ of habeas corpus to a person “in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States” at the time the writ is filed. 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (a); Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234, 238 , 88 S.Ct. 1556 , 20 L.Ed.2d 554 (1968) (“The federal habeas corpus statute requires that the applicant must be ‘in custody’ when the application for habeas corpus is filed.”). The Supreme Court has held that the “in custody” status is satisfied for jurisdiction al purposes even when…