UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FILED
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
AUG 12 2021
) Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy
MARK MARVIN, ) Court for the District of Columbia
)
Petitioner, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-01948 (UNA)
)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, )
)
Respondent. )
___________________________________ )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on Petitioner’s Application to Proceed in forma pauperis
and his pro se Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Petitioner challenges the criminal charges
brought against Jacob Anthony Chansley (AKA Jake Angeli) in connection with what Petitioner
describes as “a mostly peaceful assembly in a Washington D.C. Freedomfest on January 6[,]
2021.” Pet. at 1. The Application will be granted, and the Petition will be dismissed.
“Article III of the United States Constitution limits the judicial power to deciding ‘Cases’
and ‘Controversies.’” In re Navy Chaplaincy, 534 F.3d 756, 759 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (quoting U.S.
Const. art. III, § 2). “One element of the case-or-controversy requirement is that plaintiffs must
establish that they have standing to sue.” Comm. on Judiciary of U.S. House of Representatives v.
McGahn, 968 F.3d 755, 762 (D.C. Cir. 2020) (internal quotation marks omitted). A party has
standing for purposes of Article III if he has “(1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly
traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a
favorable judicial decision.” Id. at 763 (quoting Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540, 1547
(2016)). The instant Petition lacks any factual allegations showing that Petitioner sustained (or is
likely to sustain) an injury resulting from Defendant’s conduct.
Furthermore, as a general rule, a pro se litigant can represent only himself or herself in
federal court. See 28 U.S.C. § 1654 ("In all courts of the United States the parties may plead and
conduct their own cases personally or by counsel[.]"); Georgiades v. Martin-Trigona, 729 F.2d
831, 834 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (same); U.S. ex rel. Rockefeller v. Westinghouse Elec. Co., 274 F. Supp.
2d 10, 16 (D.D.C. 2003) (same), affd sub nom. Rockefeller ex rel. U.S. v. Washington TRU
Solutions LLC, No. 03-7120, 2004 WL 180264 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 21, 2004).
Finally, the Court notes that a “writ of habeas corpus shall not extend to a [petitioner]
unless” he is “in custody” under some authority. 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c). A person is generally
considered “in custody” if he is being held in a prison or jail, or if he is released on conditions of
probation or parole, see, e.g., Jones v. Cunningham, 371 U.S. 236, 240–43 (1963) (holding that a
paroled petitioner is “in custody” because parole restrictions “significantly restrain petitioner’s
liberty”), or subject to other “substantial” non-confinement restraints on liberty, see, e.g., Hensley
v. Municipal Court, 411 U.S. 345, 351–53 (1973) (holding that a petitioner released on his own
recognizance pending appeal of his sentence was “in custody” for purpose of habeas). Nothing in
the Petition suggests that Petitioner currently is incarcerated, or is a probationer or parolee, or is
otherwise restrained. Petitioner is thus not “in custody” for habeas purposes, and the Petition must
be dismissed.
A separate Order will issue with this Memorandum Opinion.
Date: August 12, 2021 /s/______________________
EMMET G. SULLIVAN
United States District Judge