Slater v. Eckert

Background

Michael A. Slater, who was incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility and represented himself, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging the legality of his 1989 conviction in Sullivan County Court. The opinion states that Slater paid the filing fee.

The district court’s records showed that Slater had previously filed a petition under the same statute challenging the same conviction. That earlier petition was denied on the merits. The court therefore treated the current petition as a second or successive petition.

Reason for the Transfer

Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A), a second or successive petition under § 2254 may not be filed in a federal district court unless the appropriate court of appeals first authorizes it. The court stated that Slater must ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for permission to pursue the current petition. The opinion also identifies the statutory circumstances that such a request must address, including a previously unavailable qualifying constitutional rule or newly discoverable facts meeting the statute’s demanding standard.

Ruling and Effect

Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the Clerk of Court to transfer the action to the Second Circuit in the interest of justice, under 28 U.S.C. § 1631, and stated that the order closed the district-court action. The order did not decide the substance of Slater’s challenge to his conviction. If the Court of Appeals authorizes him to proceed, he may move to reopen the action under the same civil docket number.

The court also ruled that no certificate of appealability would issue because Slater had not then made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. It certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.