Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 11-308-BAJ-CN
05-04-2012
KYLE SPRING (#555065) v. SECRETARY, LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, ET AL
RULING ON MOTION FOR CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY
This matter is before the Court on a motion by petitioner for a certificate of appealability ("COA"). "A COA should issue if the applicant has 'made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right,' 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2), which [courts] have interpreted to require that the 'petitioner must demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong." Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274, 282, 124 S.Ct. 2562, 2569, 159 L.Ed.2d 384 (U.S. 2004) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542).
The Court, having separately issued a final order in connection with the above captioned case in which detention complained of arises out of process issued by a State court, or the final order in a proceeding under § 2255, and having considered the record in the case and the requirements of 28 U.S.C. § 2253 and Rule 22(b), Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the motion by petitioner for a certificate of appealability (doc. 14), concludes that a reasonable jurist could debate the district court's assessment of whether petitioner was afforded a fair hearing on his motion for a new trial and whether that issue was "fairly presented" to the highest state court.
Accordingly, the motion by petitioner, Kyle Spring, for a certificate of appealability is GRANTED insofar as petitioner may seek to appeal the Court's conclusions concerning whether petitioner was afforded a full and fair hearing on his motion for a new trial and whether the issue was fairly presented to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May 4, 2012.
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BRIAN A. JACKSON, CHIEF JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA