MUHAMMAD v. CAMERON, 1:10-cv-00033

Muhammad, a/k/a Paul Cooper, is a state prisoner convicted in Erie County for making terroristic threats in 2004, sentenced to 18–60 months.
He did not pursue a direct appeal of the 2004 judgment.
He filed a PCRA in 2005, which was denied; the Superior Court affirmed in 2007.
He filed multiple subsequent PCRA motions, including a 2007 motion dismissed as untimely, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denying relief in 2008.
In 2007–2009 he pursued federal habeas petitions challenging the same 2004 judgment; a prior federal petition was denied with no Certificate of Appealability, affirmed on appeal.
In 2010 he filed the current §2254 petition, challenging the same Pennsylvania judgment, which Respondents moved to dismiss as second/successive without authorization.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the petition is second/successive under AEDPA	Muhammad	Respondents	District court lacks jurisdiction; petition must be dismissed
Whether a district court may entertain a second/successive petition without appellate authorization	Muhammad	Respondents	No jurisdiction; must dismiss or transfer to court of appeals
Whether the court should transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1631	Muhammad	Respondents	Transfer not warranted; no showing that transfer serves the interest of justice
Whether a certificate of appealability should issue	Muhammad	Respondents	COA denied because petition is a second/successive petition
Whether the stay and transfer request should be granted	Muhammad	Respondents	Denied

Burton v. Stewart, 549 U.S. 147 (2007) (AEDPA gatekeeping; district court lacks jurisdiction over second/successive petitions)
Robinson v. Johnson, 313 F.3d 128 (3d Cir. 2002) (district court may not entertain second/successive petition without § 2244(b)(3) authorization; transfer under § 1631)
Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473 (2000) (COA standard when petition denied on procedural grounds)