Mohadjer v. Wolf
Pajman Mohadjer v. Logan Wolf, Assistant Director of the Otay Mesa Field Office, U.S Immigration Customs Enforcement; Todd M. Lyons, Acting Director U.S Immigration Customs Enforcement; Kristi Noem, Secretary of the U.S Department of Homeland Security; and Pamela
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- Cathy Ann Bencivengo (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a habeas corpus petition filed by a detained Iranian national against high-level ICE and DOJ officials. The court dismissed the petition with leave to amend because the petitioner failed to name the immediate custodian, the warden of the detention facility, as the respondent.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Petition for writ of habeas corpus dismissed with leave to amend“Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES Mr. Mohadjer’s petition WITH LEAVE TO AMEND to include the warden of the Otay Mesa Regional Detention Center as a respondent.” | agree with court The decision follows established habeas corpus procedure which requires the immediate custodian to be named as the respondent to confer jurisdiction on the district court. The order correctly identifies the procedural defect and provides a reasonable opportunity to cure it. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly applies the binding Ninth Circuit precedent regarding the proper respondent in a habeas corpus action. The reasoning is concise and directly addresses the jurisdictional defect identified in the petition.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PAJMAN MOHADJER, Case No.: 3:25-cv-02409-CAB-AHG 12 Petitioner, ORDER DISMISSING PETITION 13 v. FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS 14 LOGAN WOLF, Assistant Director of the Otay Mesa Field Office, U.S [Doc. No. 1] 15 Immigration Customs Enforcement; 16 TODD M. LYONS, Acting Director 17 U.S Immigration Customs Enforcement; KRISTI NOEM, 18 Secretary of the U.S Department of 19 Homeland Security; and PAMELA 20 BONDI, Attorney General of the United States. 21 Respondents. 22 23 Pending before the Court is Pajman Mohadjer’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus 24 under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. [Doc. No. 1.]1 Mr. Mohadjer is an Iranian national who has been 25 held in detention at the Otay Mesa Regional Detention Center since November 4, 2024. 26 27 1 Document numbers and page references are to those assigned by CM/ECF for the docket 28 1 ||[Doc. No. 4 at 2.] Respondents filed an Opposition. [Doc. No. 4]. For the following 2 |}reasons, Mr. Mohadjer’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus is DISMISSED WITH 3 || LEAVE TO AMEND. 4 Having reviewed Mr. Mohadjer’s petition, the Court finds that it is deficient because 5 ||the proper respondent for the petition is the warden of the Otay Mesa Regional Detention 6 || Facility. Habeas petitioners “challenging their present physical confinement [must] name 7 ||their immediate custodian, the warden of the facility where they are detained, as the 8 ||respondent to their petition.” Doe v. Garland, 109 F.4th 1188, 1197 (9th Cir. 2024). The 9 || Court cannot exercise jurisdiction over Mr. Mohadjer’s petition so long as he fails to name 10 || as respondent the warden of the detention facility where he is being detained. 11 Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES Mr. Mohadjer’s petition WITH LEAVE TO 12 || AMEND to include the warden of the Otay Mesa Regional Detention Center as a 13 |}respondent. Plaintiff shall have thirty (30) days from the date of this order to refile an 14 ||amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 17 || Dated: October 10, 2025 18 Hon. Cathy Ann Bencivengo 19 United States District Judge 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28