Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_02-cv-01529/USCOURTS-caed-2_02-cv-01529-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 530
Nature of Suit: Prisoner Petitions - Habeas Corpus
Cause of Action: 28:2254 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (State)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RICKY LEE COBBS, No. 2:02-cv-1529-MCE-JFM-P

Petitioner, 

v. ORDER

TOM L. CAREY, Warden, et al., 

Respondents.

 /

Petitioner, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, has timely

filed a Notice of Appeal of this Court's April 24, 2006, denial

of his Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Before

Petitioner can appeal this decision, a Certificate of

Appealability must issue. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c); Fed. R. App. P.

22(b).

A Certificate of Appealability may issue under 28 U.S.C.

§ 2253 “only if the applicant has made a substantial showing of

the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2).

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Case 2:02-cv-01529-MCE -JFM Document 32 Filed 06/01/06 Page 1 of 3
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 Except for the requirement that appealable issues be 1

specifically identified, the standard for issuance of a

certificate of appealability is the same as the standard that

applied to issuance of a certificate of probable cause. 

Jennings, at 1010.

2

The Certificate of Appealability must “indicate which specific

issue or issues satisfy” the requirement. 28 U.S.C.

§ 2253(c)(3).

A Certificate of Appealability should be granted for any

issue that petitioner can demonstrate is “‘debatable among

jurists of reason,’” could be resolved differently by a different

court, or is “‘adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed

further.’” Jennings v. Woodford, 290 F.3d 1006, 1010 (9th Cir.

2002) (quoting Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880, 893 (1983)).1

Petitioner has made a substantial showing of the denial of a

constitutional right in the following issues presented in the

instant petition: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying

his request for a “claim-of-right” jury instruction; (2) whether

there is insufficient evidence the shooting was the natural and

probable consequence of an unarmed assault; (3) if the evidence

is not insufficient as a matter of law, whether the trial court

erred in denying his request for a jury instruction to the effect

that the shooting was not a natural and probable consequence of

the target act if it was the independent act of one of the

participants; 

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(4) whether the jury instructions improperly permitted the jury

to consider whether the crime of murder in the abstract is a

natural and probable consequence of the crime of assault in the

abstract; (5) whether the natural and probable consequence

doctrine improperly permits conviction based on ordinary

negligence; (6) whether the natural and probable consequence

doctrine creates an unconstitutional presumption; (7) whether the

trial court erred in admitting expert testimony on petitioner’s

state of mind and guilt of the offenses; (8) whether the trial

court erred in denying his motion to strike his prior juvenile

adjudication; and (9) whether petitioner was prejudiced by denial

of the right to a continuous preliminary hearing. 

Petitioner has also filed a Request for Appointment of

Counsel on appeal. That request will be denied without prejudice

to its renewal in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. A Certificate of Appealability is issued in the present

action; and

2. Petitioner’s May 16, 2006, Request for the Appointment

of Counsel on appeal is denied without prejudice to its renewal

in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

DATED: June 1, 2006

_____________________________

MORRISON C. ENGLAND, JR

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 2:02-cv-01529-MCE -JFM Document 32 Filed 06/01/06 Page 3 of 3