FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
August 4, 2009
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
FRANK M. MUÑIZ,
Petitioner–Appellant,
No. 09-2048
v. (D.C. No. 08-CV-00494-MV-LFG)
(D.N.M.)
MIKE HEREDIA, Warden,
Respondent–Appellee.
ORDER DENYING
CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY
Before LUCERO, MURPHY, and McCONNELL, Circuit Judges.
Frank M. Muñiz, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, 1 seeks a certificate of
appealability (“COA”) to appeal the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition for a
writ of habeas corpus. We agree with the district court that Muñiz has not been
subjected to double jeopardy and that his challenge to his sentencing
enhancements does not sound in habeas. Accordingly, we deny a COA and
dismiss the appeal.
1
Because Muñiz appears pro se, we construe his filings liberally. See
Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972).
Muñiz pled guilty in New Mexico state court in 2000 to one count of
residential burglary and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
He received a three-year suspended sentence on the residential burglary count and
ten and a half years’ imprisonment for aggravated assault. Muñiz’s aggravated
assault conviction was enhanced pursuant to state law for use of a firearm and
because he was a habitual offender.
In May 2008, Muñiz filed the present § 2241 petition for a writ of habeas
corpus in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, raising
two issues. He first claimed that because his good time credits were improperly
allocated to his suspended sentence, New Mexico had violated the Double
Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment by making him serve a sentence longer
than the one actually imposed. Second, Muñiz asserted that his aggravated
assault sentence was improperly enhanced based on an error of state law. 2 A
magistrate judge recommended that the petition be denied. As to Muñiz’s first
contention, the magistrate judge found there was a clerical error indicating that
good time credits were accruing to the suspended sentence rather than the
sentence of incarceration. Relying on an affidavit from a New Mexico
2
Before the district court, Muñiz alleged that this enhancement violated the
Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments, though he provided little elaboration.
Despite these citations, the substance of his argument contests solely errors of
state law. Before this court, he does not anchor his sentencing enhancement
argument to a specific provision of the Constitution.
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Corrections Department employee attesting that this error had been corrected and
did not affect the duration of Muñiz’s sentence, the magistrate judge concluded
that relief was not warranted. Regarding Muñiz’s second assertion, the magistrate
judge found that Muñiz’s argument rested on an incorrect interpretation of state
law. The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation and
denied the petition. Muñiz now seeks a COA from this court on the same two
issues he raised below.
Because Muñiz is in state custody and did not obtain a COA from the
district court, he may not appeal the district court’s decision absent a grant of a
COA by this court. Montez v. McKinna, 208 F.3d 862, 868-69 (10th Cir. 2000);
see § 2253(c)(1)(A). To obtain a COA, Muñiz must make “a substantial showing
of the denial of a constitutional right.” § 2253(c)(2). This requires Muñiz to
demonstrate “that reasonable jurists could debate whether (or, for that matter,
agree that) 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, 484 (2000) (quotation omitted). Because
Muñiz does not challenge the validity of his conviction or sentence but rather its
execution, his claim is properly brought under § 2241. See McIntosh v. U.S.
Parole Comm’n, 115 F.3d 809, 811 (10th Cir. 1997).
As to Muñiz’s first issue, the record indicates that although his good time
credits may have been improperly allocated to his suspended sentence for a period
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of time due to a clerical error, the mistake has been corrected and does not affect
the duration of his sentence or his anticipated release date. Thus, he is not being
twice subjected to punishment for the same offense. Reasonable jurists could not
debate whether Muñiz’s first contention should have been resolved differently.
Second, Muñiz’s challenge to his sentencing enhancement does not sound
in habeas. Before this court, Muñiz relies exclusively on state law; he does not
allege a constitutional violation or other violation of federal law. See Rael v.
Williams, 223 F.3d 1153, 1154 (10th Cir. 2000) (errors of state law alone are not
cognizable in habeas). Accordingly, reasonable jurists could not debate whether
the petition should have been resolved differently on this ground.
For the reasons stated, we DENY the application for a COA and DISMISS
the appeal.
Entered for the Court
Carlos F. Lucero
Circuit Judge
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