Andrivia Frances Wells, proceeding pro se, appealed a district court order that denied relief on her second amended petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. The district court had referred the case to a magistrate judge for a recommendation. The magistrate judge recommended that relief be denied and explicitly advised Wells that failing to file timely and specific objections to this recommendation would result in a waiver of her right to appellate review of the substantive recommendation. Wells did not file such objections after receiving proper notice of these consequences.
The Fourth Circuit applied the established rule that the timely filing of specific objections to a magistrate judge's recommendation is necessary to preserve appellate review of the substance of that recommendation when parties have been warned of the consequences of noncompliance. Citing Martin v. Duffy, Wright v. Collins, and Thomas v. Arn, the court held that Wells forfeited her right to appellate review by failing to file objections to the magistrate judge's recommendation after receiving proper notice. Because the substantive issues were not preserved, the court could not review the merits of the habeas claim.
The district court's order denying relief stands. The petitioner has lost the opportunity to have the substantive merits of her habeas claim reviewed by the Fourth Circuit. The court also denied her motions for a certificate of appealability and permission to appeal, effectively closing the appellate path for this specific petition in this circuit.
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