United States v. Figueroa-Ochoa, 2:13-cr-02103

Defendant Gregorio Figueroa-Ochoa filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate his conviction and sentence.
The Court denied claims 1, 2, 4, and 5; it reserved the third claim for an evidentiary hearing.
After consulting with appointed counsel, Defendant elected to withdraw the remaining third claim that had been set for hearing.
The Government opposed relief; the Court reviewed pleadings, heard from counsel and the Defendant, and considered the record.
The Court denied the § 2255 motion in full and ordered Defendant returned to BOP custody to serve the remainder of his sentence.
The Court also concluded no certificate of appealability (COA) should issue.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the remaining § 2255 claim should proceed to evidentiary hearing	The United States opposed vacatur and maintained prior denials were correct	Figueroa-Ochoa withdrew the remaining claim after discussion with counsel	Court accepted withdrawal and denied the § 2255 motion in its entirety
Whether to grant a Certificate of Appealability (COA)	A COA should not issue because the claims fail to show debatable constitutional error	Defendant sought permission to appeal the § 2255 denial (implicit)	Court denied a COA, concluding reasonable jurists could not debate the resolution

Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322 (2003) (standard for issuing a certificate of appealability: substantial showing that reasonable jurists could debate the merits)