Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:18-CV-540
11-02-2020
RENE VILLARREAL, Petitioner, v. DIRECTOR, TDCJ-CID, Respondent.
MEMORANDUM ORDER ADOPTING THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Petitioner, Rene Villarreal, an inmate confined at the Powledge Unit with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The court referred this matter to the Honorable Keith Giblin, United States Magistrate Judge, at Beaumont, Texas, for consideration pursuant to applicable laws and orders of this court. The Magistrate Judge recommends the petition for writ of habeas corpus be denied (docket entry no. 27).
The court has received and considered the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge filed pursuant to such referral, along with the record, and pleadings. No objections to the Report and Recommendation have been filed to date.
Petitioner received a copy of the Report and Recommendation on July 24, 2020 (docket entry no. 28). --------
ORDER
Accordingly, the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Magistrate Judge are correct and the report of the Magistrate Judge is ADOPTED. A Final Judgment will be entered in this case in accordance with the Magistrate Judge's recommendations.
Furthermore, the court is of the opinion petitioner is not entitled to a certificate of appealability. An appeal from a judgment denying post-conviction collateral relief may not proceed unless a judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253. The standard for a certificate of appealability requires petitioner to make a substantial showing of the denial of a federal constitutional right. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 483-84 (2000); Elizalde v. Dretke, 362 F.3d 323, 328 (5th Cir. 2004). To make a substantial showing, petitioner need not establish that he would prevail on the merits. Rather, he must demonstrate that the issues are subject to debate among jurists of reason, that a court could resolve the issues in a different manner, or that the questions presented are worthy of encouragement to proceed further. See Slack, 529 U.S. at 483-84. Any doubt regarding whether to grant a certificate of appealability should be resolved in favor of petitioner, and the severity of the penalty may be considered in making this determination. See Miller v. Johnson, 200 F.3d 274, 280-81 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 849 (2000).
In this case, petitioner has not shown that the issues are subject to debate among jurists of reason or worthy of encouragement to proceed further. Petitioner has not sought leave of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for an order authorizing the district court to consider the successive petition. As a result, this court lacks jurisdiction to consider this petition. A certificate of appealability shall not issue in this matter.
SIGNED at Beaumont, Texas, this 2nd day of November, 2020.
/s/_________
MARCIA A. CRONE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE