Mears v. Commissioner of D.O.C.C.S.
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-02273
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Mears v. Commissioner of D.O.C.C.S., Judge Swain transferred the successive habeas petition to the Second Circuit for authorization.
Steven Mears’s federal challenge to his state conviction was transferred to the Second Circuit for authorization; the district-court action was closed, while the respondents were not subjected to a merits ruling in this order.
What happened
Mears v. Commissioner of D.O.C.C.S. concerns Steven Mears’s pro se petition challenging his March 9, 2005 conviction in New York Supreme Court, New York County. The petition sought relief under a federal law allowing challenges to state convictions. The opinion says Mears appears to be serving postrelease supervision.
The court found that Mears had previously filed a petition challenging the same conviction and that the earlier petition was denied as untimely. Under the law applied by the court, that made the new petition a second or successive petition, which requires permission from the federal appeals court before filing in the district court. The court therefore transferred the petition to the Second Circuit rather than deciding the conviction challenge.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain transferred the petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and closed the district-court action. She also said a certificate of appealability would not issue and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. If the appeals court authorizes Mears to proceed, he may ask to reopen the district-court action under the existing docket number.
The detailed version
- Mears v. Commissioner of D.O.C.C.S. · No. 1:22-cv-02273
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 22, 2022
Background
Steven Mears filed a pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, the federal procedure for challenging a state-court conviction. He challenged his March 9, 2005 conviction in the New York Supreme Court, New York County. The opinion states that he appears to be serving a term of postrelease supervision.
Why the Court Transferred the Petition
The court’s records showed that Mears had previously filed a § 2254 petition challenging the same conviction. That earlier petition was denied as untimely. The court treated that denial as a decision on the merits for purposes of the federal habeas statute. As a result, the new petition was classified as a “second or successive” petition.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A), a person must obtain authorization from the appropriate federal court of appeals before filing a second or successive § 2254 petition in a federal district court. The court said Mears therefore had to ask the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for permission to pursue the petition. The required motion must address the statutory conditions concerning a previously unavailable new constitutional rule or newly discoverable facts meeting the specified standard.
Ruling and Disposition
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain transferred the petition, which the court construed as a second or successive § 2254 petition, to the Second Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 1631. The order closed the action in the district court. If the Second Circuit authorizes Mears to proceed, he may move to reopen the action under the existing civil docket number.
The court stated that a certificate of appealability would not issue because Mears had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status, meaning permission to proceed without paying the appeal fees, for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.