Narciso Ramirez v. P. Horn

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California summarily dismissed Narciso Ramirez’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction because it was an unauthorized second or successive habeas petition. The court also denied a certificate of appealability and directed Ramirez to seek authorization from the Ninth Circuit before filing another application.

Holdings

1. A petition challenging the same state conviction previously challenged in a federal habeas action is a second or successive petition, even when it presents new theories of relief or repeats a claim previously found unexhausted and voluntarily dismissed.
2. A district court lacks jurisdiction to consider a second or successive § 2254 petition unless the court of appeals has authorized its filing under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A).
3. A certificate of appealability should not issue because the petitioner did not show that reasonable jurists could debate the dismissal or that the issues deserved encouragement to proceed further.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the present § 2254 petition is a second or successive petition challenging the same state conviction and therefore requires prior authorization from the Ninth Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A).
2. Whether the district court had jurisdiction to consider the petition absent authorization from the court of appeals.
3. Whether a certificate of appealability should issue.

Disposition

dismissed