Opinion ID: 68082
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standard of review

Text: The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) requires a petitioner to obtain a COA in order to appeal the district court’s denial of his habeas petition. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1). We may issue a COA only if the petitioner makes “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” Id. § 2253(c)(2). “A petitioner satisfies this 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.” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327 (2003). Whether to grant a COA is a “threshold inquiry” that involves “an overview of the claims in the habeas petition and a general assessment of their merits” but “does not require full consideration of the factual or legal bases adduced in support of the claims.” Id. at 336. That said, we resolve any doubts as to whether a COA should issue in the petitioner’s favor 3 No. 09-70007 when the death penalty is involved. Johnson v. Quarterman, 483 F.3d 278, 285 (5th Cir. 2007). Because our analysis involves a review of the district court’s resolution of Cantu’s constitutional claims, we must take account of the deferential lens through which the district court evaluated those claims. Under AEDPA, habeas relief is unavailable on any claim adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the state court’s adjudication (1) “resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States,” or (2) “resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). With the circumscribed nature of our review in mind, we now turn to the merits of Cantu’s petition.