Caldwell v. Miles
- Susan Nelson
- 0:17-cv-01971
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 2
In Caldwell v. Miles, Judge Nelson denied a certificate to appeal but granted Caldwell permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Lincoln Lamar Caldwell, whose request for a Certificate of Appealability was denied but whose application to appeal without paying filing fees was granted.
What happened
In Caldwell v. Miles, Lincoln Lamar Caldwell asked the court for permission to appeal its earlier order denying his request for release through a habeas petition. He also asked to appeal without paying filing fees.
The court denied Caldwell’s request for a certificate of appealability because it had already denied one and Caldwell’s new motion did not show that decision was wrong. The court granted his request to proceed without paying filing fees after finding that he qualified financially and that his appeal was made in good faith.
Judge Susan Richard Nelson issued the order on March 11, 2019. The order decided only Caldwell’s two appeal-related motions; it did not reconsider the earlier decision on his habeas petition.
The detailed version
- Caldwell v. Miles · No. 0:17-cv-01971
- Susan Nelson
- Mar. 11, 2019
Background
Lincoln Lamar Caldwell, the petitioner, filed two motions connected to an appeal from the court’s earlier order denying his petition for habeas corpus relief. The opinion does not reconsider or decide the underlying habeas claims.
Certificate of Appealability
Caldwell asked the court to issue a Certificate of Appealability, or COA, under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). A COA is required to appeal the denial of certain habeas claims. The court had already declined to issue a COA and concluded that Caldwell’s latest motion did not show that decision was erroneous. The court therefore denied Caldwell’s motion for a COA.
Permission to Proceed Without Paying Fees
Caldwell also applied to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying the required filing fees, on appeal. After reviewing the financial information he submitted, the court found that he qualified financially. The court also found that the appeal was not frivolous and was taken in good faith. It therefore granted his application to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal.
Disposition
The court denied the motion for a Certificate of Appealability and granted the application to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. Judge Susan Richard Nelson signed the order on March 11, 2019.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.