In Lott v. Florida Attorney General, No. 09-14196 (Jan. 25, 2010), the Court held that a habeas petitioner had not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right, and therefore was not entitled to a certificate of appealability from the denial of a habeas petition.
Lott claimed that his counsel was ineffective for failing to put on an alibi defense. However, counsel investigated the alibi defense and found no support for it. A potential alibi witness declined to testify because she would not “lie for Lott anymore.” Moreover, Lott himself voluntarily chose not to testify in support of his alibi defense.
