Carlos Granda v. United States

In order to appeal from the final order in a proceeding brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, a movant must first obtain a certificate of appealability (“COA”). 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B). “A certificate of appealability may issue ... only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). The Court has interpreted this standard to require that the movant “demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). The circuits are divided over whether a movant may make this showing and obtain a COA where his claim is precluded by adverse circuit precedent, but where courts in other jurisdictions have ruled differently. The questions presented is: Whether, for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c), a claim foreclosed by binding circuit precedent may nonetheless be “debatable among jurists of reason” where another circuit has reached the opposite conclusion.