Jeffery Sanchez Smith v. Keith Cooley

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA SHREVEPORT DIVISION

JEFFERY SANCHEZ SMITH CIVIL ACTION NO. 22-5793 #344538 VERSUS JUDGE ALEXANDER C. VAN HOOK KEITH COOLEY MAGISTRATE JUDGE HORNSBY JUDGMENT Pending before the Court is a Report and Recommendation, Record Document 17, to deny the Plaintiff’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Record Document 1.

The Magistrate Judge correctly decided that the Plaintiff has not presented a basis for federal habeas corpus relief from his state conviction or sentence. Petitioner’s claims of ineffective assistance of trial or appellate counsel presented in his federal habeas corpus petition were previously adjudicated and denied by the state court.

This Court reviewed each claim under the Strickland standard and found that the Petitioner did not present a basis for federal habeas corpus relief from his conviction or sentence. See Strickland v. Washington, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064 (1984).

The Petitioner submitted detailed handwritten objections to the Report and Recommendation. The Court has carefully reviewed those objections and finds that they generally restate arguments considered by the Magistrate Judge.

Therefore, having considered the Report and Recommendation, the written objections, and after a de novo review of the record, the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation and the reasons articulated therein.

IT IS ORDERED that the Plaintiff's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Record Document 1, is DENIED.

Rule 11 of the Rules Governing Section 2254 Proceedings for the U.S. District Courts requires the district court to issue or deny a certificate of appealability when it enters a final order adverse to the applicant. The Court, after considering the record in this case and the standard set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2253, denies a certificate of appealability because the applicant has not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.

DONE AND SIGNED in Shreveport, Louisiana, this 18th day of March, 2026.

CV WC Vo aah UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE