HOOK v. SMITH ( 2020 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA BRIAN HOOK, : : CIVIL ACTION Petitioner : No. 18-4635 : v. : : BARRY SMITH, et al. : : Respondents : ORDER This 15th day of December, 2020 , upon careful and independent consideration of Petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody filed by petitioner, Brian Hook, (ECF 1, 10), the record in this case, the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells, dated April 10, 2020, (ECF 13), and petitioner's Objections to Report and Recommendation, (ECF 14), and for the additional reasons set forth in the accompanying Memorandum Opinion, it is hereby ORDERED as follows: 1. The Report and Recommendation is APPROVED AND ADOPTED; 2. The Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is DISMISSED; and 3. A certificate of appealability will not issue because reasonable jurists would not debate the propriety of this Court's rulings with respect to petitioner's claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). /s/ Gerald Austin McHugh United States District Judge