Opinion
Case No. 8:16-cv-2315-T-24 TGW
09-30-2016
MARCUS ALLEN JETER v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court on Petitioner Jeter's Request for a Certificate of Appealability ("COA") regarding this Court's Order denying his § 2255 motion (Doc. No. 3) and Order denying his motion for reconsideration (Doc. No. 6). (Doc. No. 8). As explained below, the motion for a COA is DENIED.
A prisoner seeking a motion to vacate has no absolute entitlement to appeal a district court's denial of his motion. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1). Rather, a district court must first issue a COA. Id. "A [COA] may issue . . . only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." Id. at § 2253(c)(2). To make such a showing, Petitioner "must demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong," Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274, 282 (2004) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)), or that "the issues presented were 'adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further,'" Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 335-36 (2003) (quoting Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893 n. 4 (1983)).
Petitioner has not made the requisite showing in these circumstances. Specifically, he seeks a COA in order to appeal this Court's conclusion that he cannot seek relief under Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2551 (2015), given that he was convicted of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, not a crime of violence. The Court finds that a COA is not warranted.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Petitioner's request for a COA (Doc. No. 8) is DENIED.
DONE AND ORDERED at Tampa, Florida, this 30th day of September, 2016.
/s/_________
SUSAN C. BUCKLEW
United States District Judge Copies to:
All Parties and Counsel of Record