Gause v. Hook ( 2020 )

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA CHARLOTTE DIVISION CIVIL CASE NO. 3:20-cv-00306-MR WALTER TIMOTHY GAUSE, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) vs. ) O R D E R ) ERIK A. HOOKS, Secretary of ) Department of Public Safety, ) ) Respondent. ) ________________________________ ) THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Petitioner’s “Request for a Certificate of Appealability” [Doc. 18]. On November 12, 2020, the Court entered an Order dismissing without prejudice the Petitioner’s § 2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus as an unauthorized, successive habeas petition. [Doc. 12]. In that Order, the Court declined to issue a certificate of appealability. [Id.]. The Petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal of the Court’s Order. [Doc. 17]. Along with his Notice of Appeal, the Petitioner filed the present motion seeking a certificate of appealability. [Doc. 18]. For the reasons stated in the Court’s prior Order [Doc. 12], the Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 338 (2003) (in order to satisfy § 2253(c), a petitioner must demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000) (when relief is denied on procedural grounds, a petitioner must establish both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable and that the petition states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right). IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the Petitioner's “Request for a Certificate of Appealability”’ [Doc. 18] is DENIED. Pursuant to Rule 11(a) of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Cases, this Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability. IT IS SO ORDERED. Signed: December 1, 2020 Ct ey Chief United States District Judge AS