Opinion
Case No. 7:06CV00401.
July 14, 2006
OPINION
The petitioner, a federal inmate proceeding pro se, has filed a Motion for Authorization to File Collateral Review, which I construe as a Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence, pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2005). Upon review of the motion and court records, I find that the § 2255 motion must be dismissed as successive.
This court may consider a second or successive § 2255 motion only upon specific certification from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that the claims in the motion meet certain criteria. See § 2255 para. 8. Petitioner previously filed a § 2255 Motion challenging the same conviction and sentence that he attacks in his current Motion. I dismissed this prior Motion as untimely filed. See Garcia v. United States, Case No. 7:06CV00084 (W.D. Va. Mar. 17, 2006) (unpublished). As the petitioner offers no indication that he has obtained certification from the court of appeals to file a second or successive § 2255 motion, I must dismiss his current action without prejudice. A separate Final Order will be entered herewith.
To obtain certification from the Fourth Circuit, the petitioner must submit a copy of the § 2255 motion to the court of appeals, along with a motion requesting certification for the district court to review a successive § 2255 motion. See 28 U.S.C.A § 2244 (West Supp. 2005). Petitioner may write to request a form and instructions for filing this motion at the following address: Office of the Clerk, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 900 E. Main St., Richmond, VA 23219.