Brown v. Lee

Background

Robert Brown, acting without a lawyer, filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 asking the federal court to review his August 1, 2016 state-court convictions. The convictions involved burglary, unauthorized use of a vehicle, third-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree grand larceny, tampering with physical evidence, and reckless endangerment. Brown later filed a motion for summary judgment on the petition.

Report and Recommendation

Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the court deny both Brown’s petition and his motion for summary judgment in their entirety. The report was mailed to Brown at his prior correctional-facility address. After Brown reported that he had been transferred and provided a new address, Judge Parker directed that the report and a related order also be mailed to the new address. No objections were filed.

Court’s Analysis and Ruling

Because Brown did not object, the district court reviewed the report for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake. Judge Jennifer H. Rearden found that the report was not facially erroneous and adopted it in its entirety. The court denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus and denied the motion for summary judgment. The conclusion directed the clerk to dismiss the petition, deny the motion for summary judgment, mail Brown a copy of the order, and close the case.

The court also declined to issue a certificate of appealability because Brown had not made a substantial showing that a constitutional right had been denied. The court further certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith.

Classification Note

This summary classifies the order as procedural because the opinion itself adopts the magistrate judge’s report after clear-error review and does not independently analyze the merits of Brown’s habeas claims. The opinion does not include the report’s detailed reasoning.