UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

SOUTHERN DIVISION

TROY HAYNES,

Petitioner,

v.

LORI GIDLEY,

Respondent. 

 /

Case Number: 2:14-CV-13195

HONORABLE SEAN F. COX

ORDER CONSTRUING PETITIONER’S MOTION FOR CERTIFICATE OF

APPEALABILITY AS MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION, DENYING

RECONSIDERATION, AND GRANTING MOTION TO

PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS ON APPEAL

Petitioner Troy Haynes filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner challenged his 2010 convictions for two counts of first-degree

home invasion, extortion, and unarmed robbery. On September 2, 2016, the Court issued

an Opinion and Order Denying Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Denying

Certificate of Appealability. Petitioner has now filed a “Motion for Certificate of

Appealability” and a “Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis on Appeal.” Because the

Court already has denied a certificate of appealability, the Court construes Petitioner’s

motion as requesting reconsideration of its decision and denies reconsideration. The

Court grants Petitioner leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. 

Motions for reconsideration may be granted when the moving party shows (1) a

“palpable defect,” (2) by which the court and the parties were misled, and (3) the

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correction of which will result in a different disposition of the case. E.D. Mich. L.R.

7.1(h)(3). A “palpable defect” is a “defect which is obvious, clear, unmistakable,

manifest or plain.” Olson v. The Home Depot, 321 F. Supp. 2d 872, 874 (E.D. Mich.

2004).

The Court denied a certificate of appealability (COA) because reasonable jurists

could not “debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition should have been

resolved in a different manner” or that the issues presented were “adequate to deserve

encouragement to proceed further.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)

(citation omitted). Petitioner’s motion simply reasserts arguments advanced in his

petition and, therefore, fails to allege sufficient grounds upon which to grant

reconsideration. L.R. 7.1(h)(3) (“[T]he Court will not grant motions for rehearing or

reconsideration that merely present the same issues relied upon by the Court, either

expressly or by reasonable implication.”). The Court’s decision denying a COA was not

based upon a palpable defect by which the Court was misled and the Court will deny the

motion. 

Also before the Court is Petitioner’s Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis on

Appeal. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(1) provides that a party to a districtcourt action who desires to appeal in forma pauperis must file a motion in the district

court. An appeal may not be taken in forma pauperis if the court determines that it is not

taken in good faith. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3). “[T]o determine that an appeal is in good

faith, a court need only find that a reasonable person could suppose that the appeal has

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some merit.” Walker v. O’Brien, 216 F.3d 626, 631 (7th Cir. 2000). While the Court

held that jurists of reason would not find the Court’s decision that the petition was

meritless to be debatable or wrong, the Court finds that an appeal may be taken in good

faith. 

Accordingly, the Court DENIES Petitioner’s “Motion for Certificate of

Appealability” (ECF No. 15), which the Court has construed as a “Motion for

Reconsideration.” The Court GRANTS Petitioner’s Motion to Proceed In Forma

Pauperis on Appeal (ECF No. 16). 

SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 18, 2016 S/ Sean F. Cox 

Sean F. Cox

U. S. District Judge

I hereby certify that on October 18, 2016, the foregoing document was served on counsel

of record via electronic means and upon Troy Haynes via First Class mail at the address

below:

Troy Haynes 

199141 

MUSKEGON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY 

2400 S. SHERIDAN 

MUSKEGON, MI 49442 

S/ J. McCoy 

Case Manager 

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