Jamon Demetrius Jackson v. Smith State Prison, et al

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-11683
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
JAMON DEMETRIUS JACKSON,
Petitioner-Appellant,
versus
SMITH STATE PRISON,
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
Respondents-Appellees.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
D.C. Docket No. 1:22-cv-00128-LMM
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-11683
____________________
Before J ORDAN, JILL PRYOR , and B RANCH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Jamon Demetrius Jackson, a Georgia prisoner proceeding
pro se, appeals the district court’s dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254
habeas corpus petition as an unauthorized second or successive pe-
tition. Because Jackson previously filed a § 2254 petition challeng-
ing the same judgment and failed to obtain authorization from this
Court before filing his current petition in the district court, we af-
firm the dismissal.
I.
In 2008, Jackson was convicted in Georgia state court of
murder, assault with a deadly weapon, arson, and other crimes and
was sentenced to life plus 10 years’ imprisonment. This case repre-
sents the third time Jackson has filed a habeas petition in federal
district court challenging the state court’s judgment. In 2016, he
filed his first § 2254 petition. The district court determined that the
petition was untimely and dismissed it. Jackson appealed, but we
concluded that he was not entitled to a certificate of appealability.
In 2017, Jackson filed a second habeas petition in federal dis-
trict court, which the district court dismissed as an unauthorized
second or successive petition. Jackson appealed the dismissal, and
this Court affirmed.
In 2021, Jackson filed this petition, his third, in federal district
court, again challenging the state court judgment. Jackson alleged
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22-11683 Opinion of the Court 3
that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel, among other
claims of error that he alleged had occurred at trial. Because Jack-
son failed to obtain authorization from this Court before filing the
petition, the magistrate judge recommended that the district court
dismiss the petition.1 Jackson objected. The district court over-
ruled the objection, adopted the magistrate judge’s recommenda-
tion, and dismissed Jackson’s petition as an unauthorized succes-
sive petition.
This is Jackson’s appeal.
II.
“We review de novo whether a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus is second or successive.” Patterson v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr.,
849 F.3d 1321, 1324 (11th Cir. 2017) (en banc).
III.
Before a prisoner in custody pursuant to a state court judg-
ment can file a “second or successive” federal habeas petition, he
must “move in the appropriate court of appeals for an order au-
thorizing the district court to consider the application.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 2244(b)(3)(A). If a prisoner fails to obtain such authorization be-
fore filing a second or successive petition, the district court must
1 After the magistrate judge recommended that the district court dismiss this
petition, Jackson sought authorization in this Court to file a second or succes-
sive petition. We denied Jackson’s request.
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-11683
dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction. Farris v. United States,
333 F.3d 1211, 1216 (11th Cir. 2003).
To determine whether a petition is second or successive, we
look to whether the prisoner previously filed a federal habeas peti-
tion challenging the same judgment. Insignares v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of
Corr., 755 F.3d 1273, 1278 (11th Cir. 2014). When a prisoner previ-
ously filed a petition challenging the same judgment and that peti-
tion was dismissed as untimely, a later petition challenging the
same judgment is considered second or successive. See Patterson,
849 F.3d at 1325 (treating new petition as second or successive
when initial petition was dismissed as untimely).
Jackson’s § 2254 petition in this case qualifies as a second or
successive habeas petition because he challenged the same judg-
ment in his first habeas petition and that petition was dismissed as
untimely. See id. Because Jackson failed to obtain leave from our
Court before filing the petition in this case, the district court
properly dismissed it. See Farris, 333 F.3d at 1216.
It is true that we have recognized a narrow exception to this
rule that permits a petitioner to file a numerically second § 2254
petition when it raises a claim that could not have been brought in
the original habeas petition. See Stewart v. United States, 646 F.3d
856, 860 (11th Cir. 2011). But Jackson’s current petition does not
fall into this narrow exception because he does not raise any claim
that could not have been brought earlier. Accordingly, we affirm
the district court’s dismissal.
AFFIRMED.
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