Edward Lee Ham, Jr. v. Attorney General, State of Georgia

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia dismissed Edward Lee Ham, Jr.’s habeas petition challenging his 1993 Georgia conviction. The court held that the petition was second or successive under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A) and that Ham had not obtained authorization from the Eleventh Circuit, depriving the district court of jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. The current § 2254 petition was a second or successive habeas petition because it challenged the same state-court judgment as Petitioner's earlier federal habeas petition, which had been dismissed as untimely.
2. The district court lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the second or successive petition because Petitioner had not obtained authorization from the Eleventh Circuit before filing it.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the current § 2254 petition was a second or successive habeas petition because it challenged the same state-court judgment as Petitioner's earlier federal habeas petition.
2. Whether the district court had jurisdiction to consider the second or successive petition absent prior authorization from the Eleventh Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A).

Disposition

dismissed