FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
October 7, 2014
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
HUGH WALTON,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v. No. 14-1208
(D. Colorado)
FRANCIS FALK, Warden, L.C.F.; (D.C. No. 1:13-CV-00403-RM)
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
THE STATE OF COLORADO,
Respondents - Appellees.
ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE
OF APPEALABILITY
Before GORSUCH, MURPHY, and HOLMES, Circuit Judges.
This matter is before the court on Hugh Walton’s pro se requests for a
certificate of appealability (“COA”) and to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis.
Walton seeks a COA so he can appeal the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C.
§ 2254 habeas corpus petition. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A). We grant his request
to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis. Because he has not, however, “made a
substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right,” id. § 2253(c)(2), this
court denies Walton’s request for a COA and dismisses this appeal.
Following a jury trial in Colorado state court, Walton was convicted on
multiple criminal counts arising out of the armed robbery of a grocery store.
Thereafter, Walton filed the instant § 2254 petition raising ten claims, several of
which had multiple subparts. In two exceedingly thorough orders, the district
court determined the claims set out in Walton’s petition (1) failed to raise a
federal constitutional issue, (2) were procedurally defaulted, or (3) failed to
satisfy the standard for obtaining habeas relief set out in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).
Walton seeks a COA on only two of the issues he raised before the district court:
(1) his assertion he was denied due process when the Colorado Court of Appeals
refused to consider an issue on post-conviction review because, it concluded, the
issue could have been raised on direct appeal; and (2) the claim he was denied
effective assistance of counsel when counsel failed to raise a challenge to a
purported violation of Walton’s right to a speedy trial.
The granting of a COA is a jurisdictional prerequisite to Walton’s appeal
from the dismissal of his § 2254 petition. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322,
336 (2003). To be entitled to a COA, Walton must make “a substantial showing
of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). To make the
requisite showing, he must demonstrate “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.” Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 336 (quotations
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omitted). In evaluating whether Walton has satisfied his burden, this court
undertakes “a preliminary, though not definitive, consideration of the [legal]
framework” applicable to each of his claims. Id. at 338. Although Walton need
not demonstrate his appeal will succeed to be entitled to a COA, he must “prove
something more than the absence of frivolity or the existence of mere good faith.”
Id.
Having undertaken a review of Walton’s appellate filings, the district
court’s thorough orders, and the entire record before this court, we conclude
Walton is not entitled to a COA. It cannot be reasonably argued the district court
erred in concluding Walton’s complaints about Colorado’s post-conviction
procedures failed to allege a violation of federal law. Sellers v. Ward, 135 F.3d
1333, 1339 (10th Cir. 1998) (holding a claim of constitutional error that “focuses
only on the State’s post-conviction remedy and not the judgment which provides
the basis for [the petitioner’s] incarceration . . . states no cognizable federal
habeas claim”); Steele v. Young, 11 F.3d 1518, 1524 (10th Cir. 1993) (holding
that even if otherwise preserved, the petitioner’s “claim challenging the
Oklahoma post-conviction procedures on their face and as applied to him would
fail to state a federal constitutional claim cognizable in a federal habeas
proceeding”). Likewise, the district court was undeniably correct to conclude the
state court’s factual findings, made after holding a three-day evidentiary hearing,
established Walton suffered no prejudice from trial counsel’s failure to raise a
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speedy-trial claim. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). Accordingly, this court DENIES
Walton’s request for a COA and DISMISSES this appeal.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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