IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-30397

CARTER VINCENT ANDERSON,

Petitioner-Appellant

v.

DARREL VANNOY, WARDEN, LOUISIANA STATE PENITENTIARY,

Respondent-Appellee

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Louisiana

USDC No. 2:18-CV-7977

Before SMITH, COSTA, and HO, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Carter Vincent Anderson, Louisiana prisoner # 418030, was convicted by 

a jury of armed robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Following 

his adjudication as a third felony offender he was sentenced to life 

imprisonment. He now requests a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal 

the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition, which he filed to challenge his 

convictions and his multiple offender adjudication.

* 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 14, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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No. 19-30397

2

To obtain a COA, a prisoner must make “a substantial showing of the 

denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); see Slack v. McDaniel, 

529 U.S. 473, 483-84 (2000). An applicant satisfies the COA standard “by 

demonstrating that jurists of reason could disagree with the district court’s 

resolution of his constitutional claims or that jurists could conclude the issues 

presented are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.” MillerEl v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327 (2003). Where the district court denies relief 

on the merits, an applicant must show that reasonable jurists “would find the 

district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.” 

Slack, 529 U.S. at 484. 

Anderson renews several claims raised in the district court. He argues 

that his rights under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), were violated 

because the prosecution used peremptory challenges on the three prospective 

black jurors and because the trial court failed to articulate a specific finding as 

to whether the prosecution’s use of a peremptory challenge as to one of the 

jurors was based on her race. He asserts that his appellate counsel was 

ineffective for failing to raise a Batson challenge. Anderson contends that his 

confession should have been suppressed because it was obtained in violation of 

his constitutional rights. Asserting prosecutorial misconduct, Anderson claims 

that his rights were violated because the prosecution failed to preserve 

evidence and was permitted to elicit testimony about the missing evidence. 

Anderson also contends that his rights under the Double Jeopardy Clause were 

violated in connection with his adjudication as a multiple offender. As to the 

above claims, Anderson fails to the make the showing required to obtain a 

COA. See Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 337; Slack, 529 U.S. at 483-84. 

Finally, Anderson contends that the district court erred by denying his 

§ 2254 petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Anderson is not 

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required to obtain a COA to appeal the denial of an evidentiary hearing; 

therefore, to the extent he seeks a COA on this issue we construe his COA 

request “as a direct appeal from the denial of an evidentiary hearing.” Norman 

v. Stephens, 817 F.3d 226, 234 (5th Cir. 2016). Because Anderson’s underlying 

claims fail, we need not address the merits of his evidentiary hearing claim. 

See id.

Consistent with the foregoing, Anderson's motion for a COA is DENIED, 

and the district court’s denial of an evidentiary hearing is AFFIRMED.

 

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