Kevin Thomas Macklin v. Casey Hamilton, Warden

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma adopted a magistrate judge’s recommendation and dismissed Kevin Thomas Macklin’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. The court concluded that the petition was an unauthorized second or successive habeas petition and that transfer was not in the interest of justice. The court denied a certificate of appealability.

Holdings

1. A district court lacks jurisdiction to address the merits of a second or successive § 2254 petition unless the court of appeals has granted the required authorization.
2. Dismissal, rather than transfer, was appropriate because transfer of the unauthorized successive petition was not in the interest of justice.
3. A certificate of appealability should be denied when the petitioner fails to make the required substantial showing and fails to show that reasonable jurists would debate both the constitutional claim and the procedural ruling.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the district court had jurisdiction to consider the merits of Macklin's second or successive § 2254 petition without prior authorization from the Tenth Circuit.
2. Whether the petition should be transferred rather than dismissed because it was an unauthorized second or successive petition.
3. Whether Macklin was entitled to a certificate of appealability after dismissal on procedural jurisdictional grounds.

Disposition

dismissed