Opinion

BROWN v. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

Court
District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
Filed
Dec 19, 2022
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 29.7%

The opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

BRUCE ANTHONY BROWN, )

) Civil Action No. 20 – 349

Petitioner, )

)

v. ) Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan

)

COMMONWEALTH OF )

PENNSYLVANIA, )

)

Respondent. )

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Petitioner has filed what is titled “Writ of Coram Nobis” (ECF No. 39). In this document,

Petitioner again claims that he never received the Court’s Order dated June 2, 2021, which

dismissed his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus as untimely, and he argues that he should therefore

have the right to respond to it by filing a motion pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(e)

or 60. Petitioner also appears to request that the Court issue a certificate of appealability.

First, it is noted that a petition for writ of coram nobis provides a way to collaterally attack a

criminal conviction for a person who is no longer “in custody” and therefore cannot seek habeas

relief. Chaidez v. United States, 568 U.S. 342, 345 n.1 (2013). It is not available to a prisoner, like

Petitioner, who is in custody. See Mendoza v. United States, 690 F.3d 157, 159 (3d Cir. 2012);

Obado v. New Jersey, 328 F.3d 716, 718 (3d Cir. 2003); United States v. Baptiste, 223 F.3d 188,

189-90 (3d Cir. 2000). Therefore, to the extent Petitioner is attempting to collaterally attack his

criminal conviction by way of a petition for writ of coram nobis, his motion is denied.

Petitioner asserts that he should have the right to respond to the Court’s Order dismissing his

Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus as untimely because he never received it. On September 14,

2022, this Court issued an Order denying what was construed as a motion for reconsideration that

was filed by Petitioner, and in that Order the Court specifically found that Petitioner had failed to set

forth a sufficient basis for this Court to alter or amend its judgment under Rule 59(e),

notwithstanding the untimely nature of Petitioner’s motion due to his alleged failure to recetve the

Court’s Order dated June 2, 2021. See ECF No. 36. It also found that Petitioner had failed to set

forth a sufficient basis for relief under Rule 60(b). See ECF No. 36. Petitioner is not barred from

filing a motion requesting relief under any particular rule or statute, but his current motion, like his

others, fails to set forth a sufficient basis for this Court to grant him any form of relief.

Finally, to the extent Petitioner is requesting that this Court issue a certificate of

appealability, his request is denied as moot because this Court already denied a certificate of

appealability in its Order dated June 2, 2021. See ECF No. 33. To the extent Petitioner is

requesting reconsideration of that ruling, his motion is also denied because Petitioner has failed to

show any sufficient basis that would justify reconsideration of the denial of a certificate of

appealability.

AND NOW, this 19th day of December, 2022,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that, for the reasons stated herein, Petitioner’s motion titled

“Writ of Coram Nobis” (ECF No. 39) is DENIED. _¢

Lisa Pupo Lenihan

United States Magistrate Judge

Ce: — Bruce Anthony Brown

KD-4333

SCI Forest

P.O. Box 945

286 Woodland Drive

Marienville, PA 16239

Counsel of Record

(via CM/ECF electronic mail)

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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