F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
December 20, 2005
TENTH CIRCUIT
Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 05-3082
v. District of Kansas
ANTWAUN NELSON FULTON, (D.C. Nos. 04-CV-3347-RDR and
02-CR-40159-RDR)
Defendant-Appellant.
ORDER *
Before HARTZ, SEYMOUR, and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.
Antwaun Nelson Fulton, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, seeks a
certificate of appealability (COA) that would allow him to appeal from the district
court’s order denying his habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. See 28
U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B). Because we conclude that Mr. Fulton has failed to make
“a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right,” we deny his request
for a COA, and we dismiss the appeal. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2).
*
This order is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of
the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel.
I. Background
Mr. Fulton pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). In his plea agreement, Mr. Fulton waived the
right to challenge his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. On October 3, 2003, the
district court applied a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice and
sentenced him to 63 months imprisonment. Mr. Fulton did not file a direct
appeal.
Mr. Fulton filed a motion to vacate his sentence on October 6, 2004,
claiming that the sentencing proceeding violated his constitutional rights. The
district court denied the motion on February 3, 2005, finding that Mr. Fulton had
waived his right to habeas corpus relief under 18 U.S.C. § 2255 and that the relief
he requested did not apply retroactively. On February 17, 2005, Mr. Fulton filed
an “Objection to the Court’s Order and/or Notice of Appeal,” which the court
construed as a Rule 59(e) motion and denied. After the district court denied Mr.
Fulton’s Rule 59(e) motion, we construed his notice of appeal and brief as an
application for a COA.
II. Claims on Appeal
The denial of a motion for relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 may be appealed
only if the district court or this Court first issues a COA. 28 U.S.C. §
2253(c)(1)(B). A COA will issue “only if the applicant has made a substantial
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showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). In order
to make such a showing, a petitioner must demonstrate that “reasonable jurists
could debate whether . . . the petition should have been resolved in a different
manner or that the issues presented were adequate to deserve encouragement to
proceed further.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 475 (2000) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
In his request for a COA, Mr. Fulton makes two challenges. First, he
claims that he did not “knowingly and voluntarily” waive his right to seek
collateral relief in his plea agreement. Second, he claims that the sentence
imposed by the district court violated his constitutional rights by lengthening his
term of imprisonment beyond the statutory maximum based on facts about
obstruction of justice determined by a judge, rather than by a jury. Because Mr.
Fulton’s constitutional challenge lacks merit, we need not decide whether he
knowingly and intelligently waived his right to collateral review.
Mr. Fulton claims that the Supreme Court’s decisions in Blakely v.
Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), and United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220
(2005), apply retroactively to invalidate his sentence. However, this Court has
held that “Booker does not apply retroactively to initial habeas petitions.” United
States v. Bellamy, 411 F.3d 1182, 1186 (10th Cir. 2005) (denying a COA to a
federal prisoner, sentenced in 2003, who raised a Booker challenge). Thus, Mr.
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Fulton cannot challenge his sentence under Booker, as he was sentenced in
October 2003 and raised this claim for the first time on collateral review.
III. Conclusion
Accordingly, we DENY Antwaun Nelson Fulton’s request for a COA and
DISMISS this appeal.
Entered for the Court,
Michael W. McConnell
Circuit Judge
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