Download This PaperCertificates of Appealability as Rubber Stamps
84 Pages Posted: 8 May 2020
Date Written: April 14, 2020
Abstract
This article conducts an empirical study of habeas cases involving Certificates of Appealability ("COA") in the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit. Notably, the study provides critical insight into the standard being used to resolve and the reasons for denying these applications. Two trends emerge in the data that are arguably a product of AEDPA deference: the tendency for courts to interpret §§ 2254(d) and (e) as calling for merits analysis at the COA stage and the tendency for courts to issue brief COA orders that rely principally on deference to lower court findings. After identifying AEDPA deference at the COA stage as the main culprit of systematic COA denials, this article proposes a doctrinal shift that may achieve a more limited inquiry that encourages further review of constitutional claims.
Keywords: Certificate of Appealability, COA, Habeas Corpus, AEDPA, Eleventh Circuit, Fifth Circuit, empirical
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