Woods v. United States of America

Filing 2

ORDER DISMISSING CASE signed by Judge Rudolph T. Randa on 11/13/2013. 1 MOTION to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence (2255) by O'Neal Woods DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. The Court declines to issue a certificate of appealability. (cc: all counsel, via US mail to O'Neal Woods at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution)(cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Case No. 95-CR-194
(13-C-1286)

O’NEAL WOODS,
Movant.
DECISION AND ORDER

The Court is in receipt of a letter from O‟Neal Woods which cites a variety of
recent Supreme Court decisions; claims that he is entitled to immediate and
unconditional release; and asks the Court to “construe this letter into the proper
Vehicle that this Honorable Court needs to „Grant‟ the relief most respectfully
requested.” This is an unauthorized, successive collateral attack, as it is a motion
“claiming . . . that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law . . .”
28 U.S.C. § 2255(a).

“Prisoners cannot avoid the AEDPA‟s rules by inventive

captioning. Any motion filed in the district court that imposed the sentence, and
substantively within the scope of [§ 2255(a)], is a motion under § 2255, no matter what
title the prisoner plasters on the cover.” Melton v. United States, 359 F.3d 855, 857
(7th Cir. 2004) (emphasis in original).
Accordingly, the Court lacks jurisdiction to consider Woods‟ motion. The
Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to open a separate civil ' 2255 action with Woods‟

motion [ECF No. 304 in Case No. 95-CR-194], which is DISMISSED for lack of
jurisdiction. The first three pages of this letter (the handwritten portion) should be
unsealed. The attachment, two pages of an addendum to Woods‟ pre-sentence report,
should remain sealed. The Court will not issue a certificate of appealability with
respect to that action. Rule 11(a), Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings.
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 13th day of November, 2013.

BY THE COURT:

__________________________
HON. RUDOLPH T. RANDA
U.S. District Judge

-2-