Mizell v. United States
- Richard Sullivan
- 1:19-cv-06849
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Mizell v. United States, Judge Sullivan refused to issue a certificate of appealability because Mizell had not made the required constitutional-right showing.
Tevin Mizell’s ability to appeal the denial of his § 2255 petition; the United States was the respondent.
What happened
Mizell v. United States concerns Tevin Mizell’s request for permission to appeal after the court denied his post-conviction petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 on May 6, 2020.
Mizell asked for a certificate of appealability, a document needed to appeal the denial of that type of petition. The court said he had not made the required substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied.
Judge Richard J. Sullivan therefore did not issue the certificate and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the listed motions.
The detailed version
- Mizell v. United States · No. 1:19-cv-06849
- Richard Sullivan
- May 29, 2020
Background
On May 6, 2020, the court denied Tevin Mizell’s petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, which allows a federal prisoner to challenge the legality of the conviction or sentence. The opinion does not describe the claims or reasoning in the earlier eleven-page order.
Request for a Certificate of Appealability
Mizell then sent a letter requesting a certificate of appealability. This certificate is required to appeal the denial of a § 2255 petition. The court applied the requirement that the petitioner make a “substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.”
Ruling
The court concluded that Mizell had not made that showing and therefore would not issue a certificate of appealability. Richard J. Sullivan, a United States Circuit Judge sitting by designation, directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion listed in the criminal case and the motion seeking the certificate in the § 2255 case.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.