Keita v. Fields

Background

On October 9, 2020, the court received Mulbah Keita’s second application for appointment of counsel. The court stated that deciding whether to appoint counsel required consideration of the case’s merits, Keita’s ability to pay for a private lawyer, his efforts to find a lawyer, whether a lawyer was available, and his ability to gather facts and address the issues without assistance. As a threshold matter, Keita also had to show that his claim had substance or a likelihood of success.

Ruling on Counsel

After reviewing Keita’s initial petition, Leroy Fields’s response papers, and the record from Keita’s state-court proceedings, the court concluded that appointing counsel would not be in the interests of justice. It therefore denied Keita’s application. The court also extended Keita’s deadline to submit a reply brief until November 30, 2020.

Appeal-Related Rulings

The court ruled that Keita had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied, so it ordered that a certificate of appealability would not issue. A certificate of appealability is a document required for certain appeals in this type of case. The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying court fees. The Clerk was directed to terminate the docket entry for the application and mail Keita a copy of the order.

What the Order Does Not Decide

This order concerns Keita’s request for counsel and related appeal matters. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims in detail or separately decide their merits.