Background
Marcus Hahn, a federal prisoner, sought a certificate of appealability to challenge the district court’s denial of his amended motion under Section twenty-two hundred fifty-five of Title twenty-eight of the United States Code. Hahn’s original conviction involved manufacturing marijuana and firearms offenses, resulting in a forty-year sentence. After a prior conviction on one count was vacated by the Fourth Circuit, the district court in New Mexico amended Hahn’s sentence under the sentencing package doctrine, reducing his total term to one hundred twenty months. Hahn filed a new motion arguing his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by a pretextual search and that his counsel was ineffective.
The court’s reasoning
The court explained that to obtain a certificate of appealability, Hahn must show that reasonable jurists would find the district court’s assessment debatable. Regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, the court applied the Stone bar, noting that Hahn had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue at his suppression hearing. The court found Hahn failed to demonstrate a debatable Brady violation or ineffective assistance of counsel claim sufficient to overcome this bar. The court also affirmed the district court’s denial of a motion to expand the record and its refusal to hold an evidentiary hearing.
What it means going forward
The denial of the certificate of appealability prevents Hahn from appealing the district court’s decision to the Tenth Circuit, effectively ending his attempt to challenge the sentence through this specific habeas claim.