In re: Stansell, No. 15-4244 (6th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseIn 1998, Stansell pleaded guilty to sex-related felonies. The Ohio trial court sentenced him to 20 years to life in prison; his direct appeals were unsuccessful. In 2002, a federal district court denied his habeas petition, 28 U.S.C. 2254. In 2013, Stansell returned to state court, seeking to vacate the portion of his sentence that designated him a “sexually violent predator.” A state appeals court affirmed denial of his petition, but ruled that the trial court had erred when, during Stansell’s original sentencing, it failed to impose a term of post-release control, and remanded “for the limited purpose of properly advising and imposing upon Stansell the requisite period of postrelease control.” The trial court imposed five years of post-release control with specific conditions. Stansell then returned to federal court, seeking authorization to file a second or successive habeas petition (28 U.S.C. 2244(b)(3)(A), again claiming that the state court violated his due process rights when it classified him as a sexually violent predator during his original sentencing. The Third Circuit held that the petition was not subject to the limits imposed on a “second or successive” petition and transferred the matter to the district court for consideration as an initial petition.
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