Opinion
Civil Action No. 3:17CV589
12-11-2017
JASON THOMAS FREEMAN, Petitioner, v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Respondent.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Jason Thomas Freeman, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se, submitted this 28 U.S.C. § 2254 Petition (ECF No. 3). Freeman challenges his 2008 convictions in the Circuit Court of Botetourt County for obstructing a law enforcement officer in the performance of his duties, breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder, rape, robbery, or arson, abduction, and attempting to impede the administration of justice. The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia previously denied a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition by Freeman challenging these convictions. Freeman v. Watson, No. 7:12CV00168, 2013 WL 509338, at *1 (W.D. Va. Feb. 11, 2013).
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 restricted the jurisdiction of the district courts to hear second or successive applications for federal habeas corpus relief by prisoners attacking the validity of their convictions and sentences by establishing a "gatekeeping mechanism." Felker v. Turpin, 518 U.S. 651, 657 (1996) (internal quotation marks omitted). Specifically, "[b]efore a second or successive application permitted by this section is filed in the district court, the applicant shall move in the appropriate court of appeals for an order authorizing the district court to consider the application." 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A). The Court has not received authorization from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to file the present § 2254 Petition. Therefore, the action will be DISMISSED for want of jurisdiction. The Court will DENY a certificate of appealability.
An appropriate Final Order will accompany this Memorandum Opinion.
/s/_________
John A. Gibney, Jr.
United States District Judge Date: 12/11/17
Richmond, Virginia