Dustin Young v. John R. Swaney, Sheriff, Madison County, Ohio, et al.

A federal habeas petitioner seeking to appeal a district court’s denial of habeas relief must obtain a certificate of appealability, commonly known as a COA. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). The statute permits a “circuit justice or judge” to issue a COA “if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” Ibid. A petitioner makes such a showing when he demonstrates that “jurists of reason would find it debatable” that the district court’s decision was correct. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). There is a square conflict among the courts of appeals on the following question presented: Whether a certificate of appealability may be granted under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c) when the issue that the petitioner wishes to present on appeal has been resolved against him by binding circuit precedent but in his favor by another federal court of appeals.