HODSON v. REAMS (2018)

ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY *

Pro se Appellant Travis Hodson has been charged with a criminal offense in a Colorado state court proceeding. There have been numerous proceedings and delays involving questions concerning his competency to stand trial in that case. He brought this action for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking federal intervention in the Colorado case for various alleged mishandlings of the mental competency proceedings. After analyzing the issues, applying the three-factor test governing abstention, as dictated by Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971), and considering the narrow exceptions to Younger, the district court held that the Younger doctrine of abstention applied and that no exceptions were met. Accordingly, the court denied the application without prejudice. It also denied a certificate of appealability because Appellant has not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.

Appellant filed a motion for relief from judgment, and the district court held that Appellant had not demonstrated an entitlement to relief under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Appellant asks this court to grant a certificate of appealability so that he may appeal the district court’s rulings. He also seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis.

After reviewing the record and the appropriate cases, we conclude that no reasonable jurist would find the correctness of the district court’s decisions debatable. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000).

We therefore DENY a certificate of appealability. We also DENY the request to proceed in forma pauperis. It is ordered that this appeal be DISMISSED. Appellant remains obligated to pay the full amount of the filing fee.

Monroe G. McKay, Circuit Judge