Davis: No Authority to Issue COA

In Davis v. Terry, No. 10-14534 (Nov. 5, 2010), the Court denied a request for a certificate of appealability (COA) from a district court’s denial of a request for a COA. The Court noted the case’s procedural history: after the Court had denied an application to file a second or successive habeas petition, after the Supreme Court, exercising original habeas jurisdiction over Davis’ petition in the Supreme Court, had transferred the case to district court to conduct an evidentiary hearing on Davis’ claim of innocence, and after the district court held a hearing and denied relief, Davis sought a COA to appeal the district court’s ruling. The Court held that because, after its original denial of a COA, there was no further review provided by law, it had no authority over his application.