Terrell Wynn v. George Frederick

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that Terrell Wynn’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition was a second or successive habeas application challenging his 2018 rape convictions and sentences. Because Wynn’s prior habeas petition had been dismissed on the merits and he lacked authorization from the Sixth Circuit, the court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petition. The court transferred the petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for authorization.

Holdings

1. A habeas petition challenging the same conviction or sentence as a prior petition dismissed on the merits is a second or successive petition.
2. A district court lacks jurisdiction to review a second or successive § 2254 petition unless the appropriate court of appeals first authorizes the filing.
3. The petition must be transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for authorization as a second or successive petition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Wynn's § 2254 petition challenging the same convictions and sentences as his prior petition was a second or successive habeas petition.
2. Whether the district court had jurisdiction to review the petition absent authorization from the Sixth Circuit.
3. Whether the petition should be transferred to the Sixth Circuit for authorization.

Disposition

other