Lopez v. United States
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:19-cv-03463
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Lopez v. United States, Judge Engelmayer declined a certificate for appeal and denied fee-free appeal status.
Carlos Lopez, who was representing himself, was denied a certificate of appealability and permission to appeal without prepaying filing fees. The United States was the defendant.
What happened
Lopez v. United States involved Carlos Lopez’s request to challenge his conviction for conspiracy to distribute narcotics. The court had previously denied that request without prejudice, and Lopez was representing himself.
This order addressed only whether Lopez could receive a certificate of appealability, which is required for certain appeals from conviction challenges. The court declined to issue one, stated that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the order on November 15, 2019. The order did not change the earlier denial of Lopez’s motion; it added rulings about an appeal from that denial.
The detailed version
- Lopez v. United States · No. 1:19-cv-03463
- Paul Engelmayer
- Nov. 15, 2019
Background
On May 16, 2019, the court denied, without prejudice, Carlos Lopez’s self-represented motion to vacate his conviction for conspiracy to distribute narcotics under 21 U.S.C. § 846. The court’s earlier order did not address whether Lopez was entitled to a certificate of appealability.
Ruling
In this order, the court declined, effective as of the earlier order, to issue a certificate of appealability. A certificate of appealability is a court authorization required for certain appeals from a conviction challenge. The court also certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Lopez permission to proceed with an appeal without prepaying the required filing fees.
Effect
The order addressed the appeal-related issues left open by the earlier decision. It did not state that the earlier denial of Lopez’s motion was changed; that denial remained without prejudice. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer signed the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.