Rivera v. McNamara
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-09530
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Rivera v. McNamara, Judge Swain declined a certificate of appealability and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Hector Rivera, whose request for a certificate of appealability was declined and whose request to proceed without paying the appeal fee was denied.
What happened
Hector Rivera, who was detained on Rikers Island, filed Rivera v. McNamara without a lawyer and without paying the filing fee. His filings could be understood as seeking a court order under federal law concerning detention. The court had previously dismissed the action for failure to state a claim and because of immunity.
In this order, the court declined to issue a certificate of appealability because Rivera had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. A certificate of appealability is required for certain appeals involving detention-related claims.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Rivera permission to proceed without paying the appeal fee. The order did not reopen or reconsider the earlier dismissal.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. McNamara · No. 1:23-cv-09530
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 17, 2025
Background
Hector Rivera filed this action while detained on Rikers Island. He proceeded without a lawyer and without paying the filing fee. The court stated that his pleadings could be understood as seeking relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, a federal law that allows certain challenges to detention. In an order and judgment dated July 16, 2024, the court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim and on immunity grounds.
Ruling
The court declined to issue a certificate of appealability concerning its July 16, 2024 order and judgment. A certificate of appealability is required for certain appeals involving detention-related claims. The court concluded that Rivera's pleadings did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Rivera permission to proceed without paying the appeal fee. The order addressed the certificate of appealability and appeal-related fee status; it did not alter the earlier dismissal.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.