F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
APR 29 1998
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
ROBERT EARL HEATH,
Petitioner-Appellant,
No. 97-6267
v. (D.C. No. 97-CV-30)
(W.D. Okla.)
STEVE HARGETT,
Respondent-Appellee.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before SEYMOUR, BRORBY, and BRISCOE, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. The case is therefore
ordered submitted without oral argument.
Mr. Robert Earl Heath, a state prisoner appearing pro se , appeals the
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
district court's order dismissing his petition for writ of habeas corpus, and the
district court's subsequent denial of his application for a certificate of
appealability. We deny Mr. Heath's request for a certificate of appealability and
dismiss the appeal.
On January 9, 1997, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254, Mr. Heath filed a
petition challenging his fully expired conviction in case No. CRF-71-2657. Under
case No. CRF-71-2657, a judgment entered March 13, 1972, Mr. Heath was
sentenced to a ten-year term of imprisonment after pleading guilty to second
degree burglary after former conviction of a felony. Though it is now expired,
Mr. Heath contends his sentence in No. CRF-71-2657 was used to "bootstrap" and
"revitalize" his conviction for robbery with a dangerous weapon in case No.
33,968, entered March 8, 1968. His conviction in case No. 33,968 was then used
as a predicate felony to enhance the sentence he is currently serving in case No.
CRF-86-451. 1
Hence, according to Mr. Heath, the enhanced sentence he is
currently serving flows from the conviction in CRF-71-2657.
1
Under case No. CRF-86-451, Mr. Heath was convicted of rape in the first
degree, forcible sodomy, and burglary in the second degree. He was sentenced to
terms of imprisonment of 150, 99, and 99 years respectively, with the sentences
ordered to run consecutively. The sentences were enhanced because Mr. Heath
previously had been convicted of a felony.
-2-
After a thorough review of the record, the magistrate judge concluded Mr.
Heath was not "in custody" under CRF-71-2657 for purposes of meeting the
jurisdictional requirements of § 2254, and recommended his petition be
dismissed. Having conducted a de novo review of the record, including Mr.
Heath's objections to the magistrate judge's findings and proposed disposition, the
district court adopted the magistrate judge's report and dismissed the petition for
writ of habeas corpus on jurisdictional grounds. 2
Mr. Heath then applied for and
was denied a certificate of appealability.
For the district court to have jurisdiction over a § 2254 petition, the
petitioner must be "in custody" under the conviction he is challenging when the
petition is filed. Maleng v. Cook , 490 U.S. 488, 490-91 (1989) (per curiam); see
also 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241(c)(3) and 2254(a). A prisoner is precluded from
challenging an expired conviction in isolation. Gamble v. Parsons , 898 F.2d 117,
118 (10th Cir.) (interpreting Maleng ), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 879 (1990). In order
to invoke the jurisdiction of the federal district court to review an expired
conviction, a petitioner must show that his "present incarceration is based in part
2
The Respondent in this action had filed a motion to dismiss for failing to
move for an order by the court of appeals authorizing the district court to consider
a successive habeas application. Pursuant to the magistrate judge's report, the
district court denied the Respondent's motion to dismiss.
-3-
upon an earlier conviction." Collins v. Hesse , 957 F.2d 746, 748 (10th Cir. 1992).
Even if the essence of the petitioner's attack is on the expired conviction, we may
liberally construe a habeas action as challenging the present confinement if it has
been enhanced by the expired conviction. Id. The petitioner, however, must
show that "if he prevails in challenging his prior expired conviction, the sentence
that he is currently serving will be reduced." Id. Mr. Heath fails to make this
required showing.
Mr. Heath's sentences under case No. CRF-86-451, for which he is
currently incarcerated, were enhanced under Oklahoma's habitual offender statute.
The record indicates those enhancements were linked only to Mr. Heath's prior
felony conviction in case No. 33,968, not to his conviction in No. CRF-71-2657.
Mr. Heath directly challenged his conviction in case No. CRF-86-451 in an earlier
habeas proceeding. The district court denied his petition, and this court affirmed
that decision. See Heath v. Cody , 83 F.3d 432, No. 96-6007, 1996 WL 221304
(10th Cir. May 2, 1996). The availability of case No. 33,968 as the basis for the
enhancement of Mr. Heath's sentence in case No. CRF-86-451 was determined in
that proceeding. Id.
While a petitioner "may argue that his present sentence is improper because
-4-
it has been enhanced by a prior, unconstitutional conviction," Gamble , 898 F.2d at
118, Mr. Heath goes too far. Mr. Heath is in custody under case No. CRF-86-451.
Mr. Heath's sentence in that case was enhanced by his prior felony conviction in
case No. 33,968. Mr. Heath does not challenge the constitutionality of that
conviction. Mr. Heath's current sentence was not enhanced by his conviction in
case No. CRF-71-2657, the conviction he now attacks. We find no authority
supporting Mr. Heath's attempt to meet the "in custody" requirement by attacking
a conviction twice-removed from the one for which he is currently incarcerated.
Consequently, we do not construe his petition as attacking his present sentence.
We agree with the district court's determination that Mr. Heath is not "in
custody" and, therefore, it is without jurisdiction to consider his petition. An
appeal cannot be taken to this court in a § 2254 proceeding unless the petitioner
has obtained a certificate of appealability by making a substantial showing of the
denial of a constitutional right. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). Mr. Heath has failed
to make such a showing.
-5-
Accordingly, Mr. Heath's request for a certificate of appealability is
DENIED . The appeal is DISMISSED .
Entered for the Court
WADE BRORBY
United States Circuit Judge
-6-