Clark v. Schnell

Background

Nathan Daniel Clark applied to proceed without paying court fees on appeal and moved for a certificate of appealability, which is permission required to pursue an appeal in a habeas case. The court had previously adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss Clark’s habeas petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. The recommendation concluded that the petition was a second or successive application and that Clark had not obtained authorization from the Eighth Circuit before filing it.

Clark later told the district court that he had asked the Eighth Circuit for authorization. The opinion states that he did file that request in March 2020, but the Eighth Circuit denied it on June 26, 2020. The district court had also previously ordered that no certificate of appealability would issue.

Court’s analysis

The court declined to reconsider its earlier order and stated that it lacked authority to reconsider the Eighth Circuit’s decision. It therefore denied Clark’s motion for a certificate of appealability.

The court also explained that a person may not proceed without paying appellate fees if the appeal is not taken in good faith. An appeal lacks good faith when it has no arguable basis in law or fact. In light of the Eighth Circuit’s denial of authorization and the district court’s decision not to issue a certificate of appealability, the court concluded that Clark’s appeal lacked an arguable basis in law.

Outcome

Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright denied Clark’s application to proceed without paying appellate fees and denied his motion for a certificate of appealability. This order did not alter the earlier dismissal of Clark’s habeas petition.