WEST v. LUTHER

• Court: District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
• Decided: October 12, 2021
• Docket: 2:20-cv-00740
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

LEONARD WEST, Petitioner,

CIVIL ACTION v. NO. 20-740

JAMEY LUTHER, et al., Respondents.

ORDER AND NOW this 12th day of October, 2021, upon consideration of Leonard West’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (ECF 1), Respondents’ Response (ECF 14), the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells (ECF 15), Petitioner’s Objection (ECF 18) and Respondents’ Objection (ECF 22), and consistent with the accompanying Memorandum of Law, it is ORDERED that: 1. Respondents’ Objection (ECF 19) is SUSTAINED and the Report and Recommendation is NOT ADOPTED with respect to West’s first claim. 2. Petitioner’s Objection is OVERRULED and the Report and Recommendation is APPROVED and ADOPTED with respect to West’s second claim. 3. The Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus is DENIED and DISMISSED with prejudice; 4. A certificate of appealability shall NOT ISSUE because reasonable jurists would not debate West has not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327 (2003). It is FURTHER ORDERED that Petitioner’s Motion for Default (ECF 30) is DENIED. Because the Court does not adopt the Report and Recommendation with respect to West’s first claim, there is no basis for a retrial or for his release from custody. The Clerk of Court shall mark this case CLOSED for statistical purposes. BY THE COURT:

/s/ Gerald J. Pappert GERALD J. PAPPERT, J.