Mendez v. United States

Background

Jesus Mendez, who was incarcerated in Pennington Gap, Virginia, and represented himself, filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 seeking to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence in the related criminal case. He argued that he had been found guilty of a crime he was not charged with and that the written sentence did not match the sentence announced orally. Although he referred to lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and newly discovered evidence, the court determined that the filing was essentially a motion under § 2255.

The court noted that it had previously denied a § 2255 motion filed by Mendez. It also noted that another successive § 2255 motion was pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a matter in which Mendez was represented by counsel.

Ruling

A successive § 2255 motion is a second or later sentence challenge, and a defendant must obtain permission from the appropriate court of appeals before filing one. Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2255(h) and 1631, the court transferred Mendez’s matter to the Second Circuit to decide whether to authorize another successive § 2255 motion. The order closed the district-court action, while allowing Mendez to seek reopening under the same civil docket number if the Second Circuit authorized the filing.

Judge Denny Chin stated that the motion did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied, so a certificate of appealability would not issue. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The order did not decide whether Mendez’s sentencing arguments were correct.