Paul Edward Duran v. Warden

Summary

The United States District Court for the Central District of California summarily dismissed Paul Edward Duran’s successive 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition for lack of jurisdiction. The court determined that the petition challenged the same 2014 state conviction addressed in Duran’s prior habeas action and that he had not obtained authorization from the Ninth Circuit to file a successive petition. The dismissal was without prejudice, and the court denied a certificate of appealability.

Holdings

1. The petition was a second or successive habeas petition because it challenged the same 2014 conviction previously challenged in a federal habeas action that was denied on the merits.
2. The district court lacked jurisdiction to consider the successive petition because Petitioner had not obtained authorization from the Ninth Circuit before filing it.
3. A certificate of appealability was denied because reasonable jurists could not debate the correctness of the procedural dismissal for lack of authorization to file a successive petition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the present § 2254 petition was a second or successive habeas petition because it challenged the same state-court conviction previously challenged in federal habeas proceedings.
2. Whether the district court had jurisdiction to consider the successive petition absent authorization from the Ninth Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A).
3. Whether Petitioner was entitled to a certificate of appealability after the procedural dismissal.

Disposition

dismissed