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Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-30078

Summary Calendar

RANDY HUGHES,

Petitioner-Appellant

v.

J. TIM MORGAN, Warden, Winn Correctional Center,

Respondent-Appellee

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Louisiana

USDC No. 2:12-CV-2841

Before SMITH, BENAVIDES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges. 

PER CURIAM:*

Randy Hughes, Louisiana prisoner # 117275, appeals the district court’s 

dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 application challenging his convictions for

attempted distribution of cocaine and possession of cocaine, as well as his 

adjudication as an habitual offender and his resulting 20-year sentence. The 

only issue properly before this court is whether Martinez v. Ryan, 132 S. Ct. 

1309 (2012), can be applied to excuse the procedural default of Hughes’s 

 

* 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.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

April 25, 2016

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 Case: 14-30078 Document: 00513478630 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/25/2016
No. 14-30078

2

ineffective assistance of counsel claims. See Sonnier v. Johnson, 161 F.3d 941, 

946 (5th Cir. 1998). Pro se briefs are afforded liberal construction. Yohey v. 

Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 225 (5th Cir. 1993). Nevertheless, it is well settled that 

an appellant “abandons all issues not raised and properly presented in [his] 

initial brief on appeal.” Banks v. Thaler, 583 F.3d 295, 329 (5th Cir. 2009). 

Because Hughes has failed to adequately brief his argument, he has abandoned 

the critical issue of this appeal. Accordingly, the district court’s judgment is 

AFFIRMED.

 Case: 14-30078 Document: 00513478630 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/25/2016