Newark, NJ – A New Jersey man’s unusual attempt to stop police from arresting him before it happened was shot down in federal court this week.

Wesley-Keith Mullings filed a habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. §2241, describing it as a “preemptive challenge” to what he called a void arrest warrant, court records show. He asked the court to block enforcement of warrant #W-2025-8642-0714, even though he had not yet been taken into custody.

U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel ruled on Monday that the petition could not move forward because federal habeas law requires a petitioner to already be “in custody” at the time of filing. Since Mullings admitted he was seeking to avoid arrest altogether, the court determined it lacked jurisdiction.

In his brief order, Judge Kiel cited Third Circuit

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