How to Obtain a Certificate of Appealability
After a person is convicted or entered a plea, an appeal is normally a matter of right. This same right does not exist at all stages of the proceedings.
Where a federal district court denies a 2254 habeas corpus petition filed a by a state prisoner or a 2255 petition to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence by a federal prisoner, the litigant must first obtain a certificate of appealability, commonly referred to as a “COA,” before the appellate court will hear the appeal. [1]
To obtain a COA, the petitioner must make “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” [2] If the district court denied the claim on procedural grounds, the petitioner must convince the court “at least, that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right and that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling.” [3] Similarly, when the district court rejects a claim on the merits, the petitioner must show that “that reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.” [4] This standard does not mean that the petitioner must show that a reasonable judge would grant the habeas corpus petition. [5] The Supreme Court has even noted that a claim can be debatable for purposes of granting a COA where every reasonable judge might agree that the petitioner could not prevail after the COA was granted and the case had been given full consideration. [6]
After a COA is granted, the appeals court will set the issues for briefing. However, the appeal will be limited to the issues specified in the COA. [7] Appellate courts have discretion to expand an appeal beyond the issues raised in the COA, but that discretion is generally guarded and reserved for exceptional cases. [8]
If you or someone you love needs competent, experienced representation in seeking a certificate of appealability, contact Peter Armstrong, Attorney at Law, for a free consultation.
Citations:
1. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1); Anderson v. Sec’y for the Dep’t of Corr., 462 F.3d 1319, 1323 (11th Cir. 2006).
2. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2).
3. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000).
4. Id.
5. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 338 (2003).
6. Id.
7. U.S. v. Morgan, 230 F.3d 1067, 1069 (8th Cir. 2000); Hodges v. AG, 506 F.3d 1337, 1340-41 (11th Cir. 2007).
8. Winfield v. Roper, 460 F.3d 1026, 1040 (8th Cir. 2006); Mays v. U.S., 817 F.3d 728, 733 (11th Cir. 2016).