Brown v. Warden

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

JAMES MICHAEL BROWN ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CAUSE NO.: 3:24-CV-313-JVB-JEM ) WARDEN, ) Defendant. )

OPINION AND ORDER James Michael Brown, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his 2020 conviction in St. Joseph County under case number 71D03-1909-F2-00017. (ECF 1). This is not the first time he has challenged this conviction in federal court. In 2022, he filed a habeas petition challenging this same conviction, and his petition was dismissed as untimely. Brown v. Warden, 3:22-CV-842-RLM-MGG (N.D. Ind. closed Oct. 6, 2022). Because he filed a prior petition, he cannot proceed with a new habeas petition challenging his 2020 conviction unless he obtains authorization from the Seventh Circuit.1 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(A). There is no indication from his filing he has obtained such authorization. Because this court lacks jurisdiction to consider an unauthorized successive petition, the petition must be dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 2244(a); Burton v. Stewart, 549 U.S. 147, 157 (2007). For these reasons, the petition (ECF 1) is DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. The clerk is DIRECTED to close this case. SO ORDERED on April 23, 2024. s/ Joseph S. Van Bokkelen JOSEPH S. VAN BOKKELEN, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

1 A petition dismissed as untimely counts as a “prior” petition for purposes of the limitation on successive petitions. Altman v. Benik, 337 F.3d 764, 766 (7th Cir. 2003).