United States v. Wright

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-30309
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
WELTON L. WRIGHT,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 01-CV-507
USDC No. 95-CR-30024-2
--------------------
December 12, 2002
Before JOLLY, JONES, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Welton L. Wright, federal prisoner # 09039-035, appeals the
district court’s dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion as
untimely. Wright’s motion challenged his sentence for conspiracy
to distribute cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base. The
district court granted Wright a certificate of appealability
(“COA”) because this court had not yet decided whether Apprendi

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No. 02-30309
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v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), applied retroactively to an
initial 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion.
We recently concluded that Apprendi does not apply
retroactively to cases on initial collateral review. See United
States v. Brown, 305 F.3d 304 (5th Cir. 2002). In Brown, we
stated that “Apprendi creates a new rule of criminal procedure
which is not retroactively applicable to initial petitions under
[28 U.S.C.] § 2255.” Id. at 310. Therefore, the district court
did not err in concluding that Apprendi does not apply
retroactively to cases on initial collateral review, or in
concluding that Wright’s motion was untimely.
We do not reach the other issues raised by Wright because he
has not expressly sought to expand the COA grant to include these
issues. See United States v. Kimler, 150 F.3d 429, 431 (5th Cir.
1998) (party must expressly seek a COA on additional issues not
certified by the district court).
AFFIRMED.

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