Geron v. Graham
- Gregory Woods
- 1:18-cv-00168-GHW-VF
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Geron v. Graham, Judge Woods denied the petition, adopted the recommendation, denied no-cost appeal status and a certificate of appealability, and closed the case.
Roberto Geron’s petition was denied; H. Graham received judgment, and the case was closed.
What happened
In Geron v. Graham, Roberto Geron challenged the validity of his guilty plea and raised a claim under the Eighth Amendment. A magistrate judge recommended denying his petition.
No one filed a timely objection to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. The district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error and found none. The recommendation said Geron’s claims were unexhausted and procedurally barred, and that they would fail on the merits even if those barriers did not apply.
Judge Gregory H. Woods adopted the recommendation in full and denied the petition. He also denied Geron no-cost appeal status and a certificate of appealability, directed entry of judgment for H. Graham, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- Geron v. Graham · No. 1:18-cv-00168-GHW-VF
- Gregory Woods
- Sept. 29, 2022
Background
Roberto Geron filed a petition challenging his criminal case. He disputed the validity of his guilty plea and raised an Eighth Amendment claim. On September 14, 2022, Magistrate Judge Figueredo issued a report and recommendation advising that the petition be denied.
Magistrate Judge’s Recommendation
The recommendation concluded that Geron’s challenge to his guilty plea should be dismissed because he had not exhausted the claim through the required state-court process and because the claim was procedurally barred. It also concluded that the claim lacked merit even if those procedural problems did not apply. The recommendation reached the same conclusions about Geron’s Eighth Amendment claim.
District Court’s Review and Ruling
The district court explained that, when no timely objection is filed, it reviews the recommendation for clear error. No objection was filed within the fourteen-day period, and the court found no clear error. Judge Woods therefore accepted and adopted the recommendation in its entirety and denied the petition.
The court certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Geron no-cost appeal status under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). It also denied a certificate of appealability because Geron had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right was denied. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Geron, enter judgment for H. Graham, and close the case.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.