Kellier v. McAuliffe

Background

Joshua Kellier filed a petition seeking federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In an earlier order, the court treated his original filing as a Section 2254 petition, allowed him time to withdraw the action or amend it, and warned him that he needed to address issues including exhaustion of available state remedies. The court treated his second amended petition as the operative pleading. The opinion states that Kellier was proceeding without a lawyer and without prepaying the filing fee.

Kellier challenged a July 25, 2024 conviction in the New York Supreme Court, New York County. He appeared to allege that a jury convicted him of multiple criminal offenses and that the trial court imposed a seven-year prison term followed by ten years of probation. He also appeared to allege that he had appealed to the Appellate Division, First Department, but had received no result and had been denied the right to appeal.

Exhaustion requirement

Section 2254 generally requires a state prisoner to give the state courts the first opportunity to review the constitutional claims connected to the conviction and confinement. In New York, the court explained, a petitioner ordinarily must directly appeal the conviction to the Appellate Division and, if necessary, seek permission to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals. Claims that cannot be raised on direct appeal may need to be presented through a state post-conviction motion, followed by any required state-court appeal.

The court found that Kellier had not shown exhaustion of any grounds for federal habeas relief. Appellate Division records indicated that the appeal he identified, docket number 24-05177, was still pending. Kellier also stated that he had not sought review from the New York Court of Appeals and had not filed other petitions, applications, or motions concerning his conviction.

Ruling

The court denied Kellier’s second amended Section 2254 petition because he had not exhausted available state-court remedies and dismissed the action without prejudice. The court also denied all pending requests and motions as moot and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the pending motions. It stated that no certificate of appealability would issue because Kellier had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. The court further certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain directed the Clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action.