Brown v. Sikes, et al
Filing
156
ORDER adopting 154 Report and Recommendations.; denying 153 Motion to Set Aside Judgment. Ordered by US DISTRICT JUDGE C ASHLEY ROYAL on 04/19/2024. (elp)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
WALTER LEE BROWN,
:
:
Petitioner,
:
:
v.
:
No. 5:96‐CV‐58‐CAR‐CHW
:
:
Warden JOHNNY SIKES,
:
Proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 2254
:
Respondent.
:
___________________________________ :
ORDER ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Before the Court is the United States Magistrate Judge’s Recommendation to deny
Petitioner Walter Lee Brown’s Motion to Set Aside Judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 60(b). Petitioner has filed an Objection to the Recommendation. This
Court has fully considered the record in this case and made a de novo determination of
the portions of the Recommendation to which Petitioner objects. Having done so, the
Court finds Petitioner’s Objection unpersuasive and agrees with the Recommendation to
deny the petition. Accordingly, the Magistrate Judge’s Order [Doc. 154] is HEREBY
ADOPTED AND MADE THE ORDER OF THE COURT. Petitioner’s Motion to Set
Aside Judgment [Doc. 153] is DENIED.
1
This is Petitioner’s seventh motion to set aside the Judgment entered in 1997. The
Magistrate Judge recommended denying the Motion because it is untimely and barred
by the law of the case doctrine. The Petitioner argues his Motion (1) is not untimely
because Rule 60(b)(4) “has no set time limit” and (2) is not barred under the law of the
case doctrine because his argument that the 1997 Judgment is void based on the Court’s
lack of subject matter jurisdiction has never been addressed on the merits.
Despite Petitioner’s arguments, the 1997 Judgment is not void, and the Court had
subject matter jurisdiction to hear Petitioner’s 1996 Habeas Corpus Petition under 28
U.S.C. § 2254. Subject matter jurisdiction “is the statutorily conferred power of the court
to hear a class of cases.”1 Title 28 U.S.C. § 2254 conferred this Court with jurisdiction to
hear applications for writs of habeas corpus, including Petitioner’s. Specifically, 28 U.S.C.
§ 2254(a) “states that a district court ‘shall entertain’ a habeas petition ‘in behalf of a
person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a State court.’”2 There is no dispute that
at the time this action was brought, Petitioner was in custody pursuant to a state court
judgment. Thus, this Court had, and continues to have, subject matter jurisdiction over
this case.
1 In re Trusted Net Media Holdings, LLC, 550 F.3d 1035, 1044 (11th Cir. 2008) (citing Kontrick v. Ryan, 540
U.S. 443, 455 (2004)).
2 Burton v. Stewart, 549 U.S. 147, 157 (2007) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 2254(a)).
2
Petitioner contends the state trial and appellate courts never made factual
determinations on his Fourth Amendment claims, and therefore the Court lacked subject
matter jurisdiction over this case in 1997. But both the trial court and the Georgia Supreme
Court ruled on the merits of Petitioner’s Fourth Amendment claims.3 As explained above,
the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction exists by virtue of 28 U.S.C. § 2554, and the state
court’s factual determinations do not affect this Court’s subject matter jurisdiction.
Finally, Petitioner contends the 1997 Judgment was “unfairly obtained” and thus void
under Rule 60(b)(4). But the “unfairly obtained” standard relates to Rule 60(b)(3) for relief
from judgment for fraud,4 which has already been decided in prior Orders of this Court
and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.5
This Court has fully considered the record in this case and made a de novo
determination of the portions of the Recommendation to which Petitioner objects.
Having done so, the Court finds Petitioner’s Objection unpersuasive and agrees with the
Recommendation to deny the petition. Accordingly, the Magistrate Judge’s Order [Doc.
154] is HEREBY ADOPTED AND MADE THE ORDER OF THE COURT. Petitioner’s
Motion to Set Aside Judgment [Doc. 153] is DENIED.
3 Brown v. State, 262 Ga. 728, 729 (1993).
4 See Johnson v. Offshore Express, Inc., 845 F.2d 1347, 1358 (5th Cir. 1988) (explaining that Rule 60(b)(3) “is
aimed at judgments which were unfairly obtained”).
5 Docs. 86, 104, 110, 114.
3
SO ORDERED this 19th day of April, 2024.
S/ C. Ashley Royal________________
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?