Chase v. Warden SCI Albion

Filing 19

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION - IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that 17 Magistrate Judge Carlson's Report and Recommendation is adopted; 1 Petition is denied; Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability; Clerk directed to close this case. Signed by Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann on 10/29/2021. (Case closed.) (lg)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
LEONARD CHASE, JR.,

No. 4:18-CV-00101

Petitioner,

(Chief Judge Brann)

v.

(Magistrate Judge Carlson)

SCI ALBION, et al.,
Respondents.
ORDER
OCTOBER 29, 2021
Leonard Chase, Jr., a Pennsylvania state prisoner, filed this 28 U.S.C. § 2254
petition seeking to vacate his convictions and sentence based upon constitutional
violations that allegedly occurred during his trial.1 In September 2021, Magistrate
Judge Martin C. Carlson issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that
this Court deny the petition, as Chase’s claims are either procedurally defaulted or
otherwise without merit.2 Chase filed timely objections to this Report and
Recommendation; those objections primarily relate to Chase’s contention that he
was improperly convicted of numerous counts of robbery.3
“If a party objects timely to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation,
the district court must ‘make a de novo determination of those portions of the report

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2
3

Doc. 1.
Doc. 17.
Doc. 18.

or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.’”4
Regardless of whether timely objections are made, district courts may accept, reject,
or modify—in whole or in part—the magistrate judge’s findings or
recommendations.5 After reviewing the record, the Court finds no error in Magistrate
Judge Carlson’s conclusion that Chase’s claims are either procedurally defaulted or
without merit. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1.

Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson’s Report and Recommendation
(Doc. 17) is ADOPTED;

2.

Chase’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition (Doc. 1) is DENIED;

3.

The Court declines to issue certificate of appealability;6 and

4.

The Clerk of Court is directed to CLOSE this case.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Matthew W. Brann
Matthew W. Brann
Chief United States District Judge

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Equal Emp’t Opportunity Comm’n v. City of Long Branch, 866 F.3d 93, 99 (3d Cir. 2017)
(quoting 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)).
28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Local Rule 72.31.
See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000) (setting forth legal standard).
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