U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2013

Robert Eason v. Joseph Hall

Robert Eason v. Joseph Hall
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Decided June 12, 2013 · Keenan, Floyd, Thacker
528 F. App'x 308

Robert Eason v. Joseph Hall

Opinion

Affirmed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Robert Eason seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006) petition without prejudice as an unauthorized second or successive § 2254 petition. Eason placed his petition form and a memorandum elaborating on the petition in two separate envelopes, causing the district court to docket two separate cases. The district court dismissed the action that was filed second in time as second or successive, even though the first petition was still pending and awaiting adjudication.

We grant a certificate of appealability on the issue of whether the district court erred in dismissing the instant petition as *309 an unauthorized second or successive petition within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) (2006), but we affirm the district court’s dismissal of the petition without prejudice on the ground that it was improvidently docketed as a new petition. We deny a certificate of appealability on any other issues raised by Eason.

Accordingly, we grant in part and deny in part Eason’s motion for a certificate of appealability and grant his motion to proceed in forma pauperis. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the material before this court and argument will not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED.

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