Cephas v. Warden, Lebanon Correctional Institution

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION AT CINCINNATI

ERNEST CEPHAS,

Petitioner, Case No. 1:23cv068

v. Judge Michael R. Barrett

WARDEN, Lebanon Correctional Institution,

Respondent.

ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the Report and Recommendations (“R&R”) filed by the Magistrate Judge on October 30, 2023. (Doc. 8). After a thorough analysis of 14 grounds for relief, Magistrate Judge Merz recommends that Ernest Cephas’ Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus be dismissed with prejudice and that a certificate of appealability be denied. Proper notice was given to Petitioner (who proceeds pro se) under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b), including notice that he may forfeit rights on appeal if he failed to file objections to the R&R in a timely manner.1 United States v. Walters, 638 F.2d 947 (6th Cir. 1981); see Berkshire v. Dahl, 928 F.3d 520, 530 (6th Cir. 2019). No objections to the R&R (Doc. 8) were filed and the time to do so (extended at Petitioner’s request)2 has passed.

1 In a written Order (Doc. 9) entered November 17, 2023, the undersigned sua sponte directed the Clerk to re-serve the October 30, 2023 R&R by mailing it to Petitioner at Allen Correctional Institution in Lima, Ohio. Petitioner’s objections were due, then, no later than December 4, 2023. (Id. PAGEID 1857; see Doc. 11 PAGEID 1863 & n.1).

2 Petitioner filed a Motion for Enlargement of Time, asking the Court “to extend by thirty-five days his time to respond” to the October 30, 2023 R&R. (Doc. 10 PAGEID 1858). The Magistrate Judge granted Petitioner’s request (see Doc. 11), extending his time to object (from December 4, 2023) to January 8, 2024. The R&R (Doc. 8) of the Magistrate Judge is hereby ACCEPTED and ADOPTED. Consistent with the recommendation by the Magistrate Judge, the Petition (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED in its entirety with prejudice. Because reasonable jurists would not disagree with this conclusion, Petitioner is DENIED a certificate of appealability. The

Court CERTIFIES that any appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit would be objectively frivolous and, consequently, Petitioner is DENIED leave to appeal in forma pauperis. IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/ Michael R. Barrett Michael R. Barrett, Judge United States District Court