Robin Renee Melchior v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

Whether the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals below erred by failing to grant Petitioner a ‘certificate of appealability’ for her habeas corpus appeal, under 28 U.S.C. 2253(c) and the “modest showing” required by Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473 (2000)? What standard of review is a United States District Court to utilize when determining whether to dismiss a state prisoner’s habeas petition pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 cases in the United States District Courts? Whether a United States District Court may dismiss a state prisoner’s habeas petition on the face of the petition without reviewing the state court records when the prisoner pleads newly presented evidence since the time of the original state trial proceedings?