Reported / Citable
Background
Davis Walters, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Institutions Division prisoner proceeding pro se, petitioned for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.
The case was referred to U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn, who recommended denying the petition. Walters filed objections to the report and recommendation.
The Court’s Holding
District Judge Michael J. Truncale conducted de novo review of Walters’s objections, the pleadings, the record, and the available evidence. The court found the objections meritless for the reasons stated in the magistrate judge’s report.
The court overruled Walters’s objections and adopted the magistrate judge’s findings and conclusions. It also denied a certificate of appealability because Walters had not shown that his claims or any procedural ruling were debatable among reasonable jurists or warranted further proceedings.
Key Takeaways
- The court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation to deny § 2254 relief.
- Walters’s objections were overruled after de novo review.
- The court denied a certificate of appealability.
Why It Matters
The order ends Walters’s federal habeas case at the district-court level, subject to the final judgment contemplated by the order. Without a certificate of appealability, he cannot proceed with an appeal unless a judge grants one.