Jackson v. Jaimison

Background

Hosea Jackson, who is incarcerated at F.C.I. Otisville, filed a self-represented petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. He sought to challenge his conviction and sentence from a case in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The court determined that the relief Jackson sought was governed by 28 U.S.C. § 2255 instead. Section 2255 is generally the procedure federal prisoners use to challenge their convictions or sentences.

Jackson had previously filed a Section 2255 motion challenging the same conviction and sentence. The district court denied that motion on the merits, and the denial was affirmed on appeal. The opinion also states that Jackson previously filed another Section 2241 petition in this court; that application was treated as a second or successive Section 2255 motion and transferred to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which denied it because Jackson had not made the required initial showing under Section 2255(h).

Court’s analysis

A Section 2255 motion is second or successive when an earlier motion was decided on the merits. The court therefore recharacterized Jackson’s current application as a second or successive Section 2255 motion. Before filing such a motion in a district court, the applicant must obtain authorization from the appropriate court of appeals. Jackson had not indicated that he received that authorization.

Disposition

The court transferred the motion under Section 2255 to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in the interest of justice. The order closed this case. The court further stated that a certificate of appealability would not issue because the motion did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.