Guerrero v. United States

Background

Saudy Guerrero filed a self-represented motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 challenging the conviction and sentence entered in his criminal case. The opinion states that Guerrero is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Gilmer, in Glenville, West Virginia.

Court records showed that Guerrero had already filed an earlier § 2255 motion challenging the same judgment of conviction. The earlier motion was denied on the merits. Because that prior motion reached the merits, the court treated the current motion as a “second or successive” § 2255 motion.

Authorization Requirement

Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2244(b)(3)(A) and 2255(h), a person must obtain authorization from the appropriate federal court of appeals before filing a second or successive § 2255 motion in a district court. The opinion states that authorization must come from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It also explains that Guerrero must show that the motion is based on newly discovered evidence or a new rule of constitutional law made retroactive by the Supreme Court.

Ruling

In the interest of justice, the court directed the Clerk of Court to transfer the current § 2255 motion to the Second Circuit. The order closed the civil action in the Southern District of New York. It stated that, if the Second Circuit authorizes Guerrero to proceed, he may move to reopen the action under civil docket number 7:23-CV-4525 (VB).

The court further ruled that a certificate of appealability would not issue because the motion did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The order did not resolve the merits of the current § 2255 motion.