Kenneth Todd Boykins v. Leticia James

Summary

The court determined that Kenneth Todd Boykins’s habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 was a second or successive petition concerning the same state-court conviction. Because Boykins had not obtained authorization from the appropriate court of appeals, the court transferred the petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 1631.

Holdings

1. A district court may not consider a second or successive § 2254 application unless the applicant first obtains an order from the appropriate court of appeals authorizing the district court to consider it.
2. An unauthorized second or successive § 2254 petition must be transferred to the Second Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 1631 so that the appellate court may determine whether the district court can hear it.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court could consider Boykins's second or successive § 2254 petition without prior authorization from the appropriate court of appeals.
2. Whether an unauthorized successive § 2254 petition should be transferred to the Second Circuit under 28 U.S.C. § 1631.

Disposition

remanded