Yakenski Stevens v. Warden Joshua Jones

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia adopts a magistrate judge’s recommendation and dismisses Yakenski Stevens’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition as untimely. The court grants the respondent’s motion to dismiss, denies the petitioner’s related motions, and denies a certificate of appealability.

Holdings

1. When no timely objections are filed to a magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation, the district court reviews the recommendation for clear error rather than conducting de novo review.
2. The § 2254 petition was untimely because it was filed on April 30, 2024, after the April 1, 2024 filing deadline.
3. A certificate of appealability was denied because petitioner did not make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Report and Recommendation recommending dismissal of the § 2254 petition as untimely should be accepted under clear-error review when no objections were filed.
2. Whether the petition was untimely under the limitations period in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1).
3. Whether petitioner was entitled to a certificate of appealability.

Disposition

dismissed