Speed v. United States

Background

Robert Speed, who is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution at Joint Base MDL, New Jersey, filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Section 2255 provides a procedure for a federal prisoner to challenge a federal conviction or sentence. Speed represented himself and challenged the judgment entered in his criminal case.

The court identified several earlier motions by Speed challenging the same judgment of conviction. The opinion states that those earlier motions were denied on the merits. Based on that history, the court concluded that the present § 2255 motion was a “second or successive” motion.

Reasoning

A second or successive § 2255 motion cannot be filed in the district court unless the appropriate federal appeals court first authorizes it. The court therefore determined that Speed had to seek permission from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit before pursuing the current motion. The opinion states that the required authorization depends on showing that the motion is based on newly discovered evidence or a new constitutional rule 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 court closed this civil action in the district court, while stating that Speed could move to reopen it under the same civil docket number if the appeals court authorized him to proceed.

The court also ruled that no certificate of appealability would issue because the motion did not make a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. In addition, the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying filing fees.