`
`UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT
`
`
`
`Everett McKinley Dirksen
`United States Courthouse
`Room 2722 - 219 S. Dearborn Street
`Chicago, Illinois 60604
`
`Office of the Clerk
`Phone: (312) 435-5850
`www.ca7.uscourts.gov
`
`
`
`
`ORDER
`
`Before
`AMY J. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge
`CANDACE JACKSON-AKIWUMI, Circuit Judge
`
`
`
`
`
`March 18, 2024
`
`
`
`
`No. 23-3140
`
`MICHAEL COBBS,
` Petitioner - Appellant
`
`v.
`
`UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
` Respondent - Appellee
`Originating Case Information:
`District Court No: 3:22-cv-03141-SEM
`Central District of Illinois
`District Judge Sue E. Myerscough
`
`The following are before the court:
`
`1. AFFIDAVIT ACCOMPANYING MOTION FOR PERMISSION TO APPEAL IN
`FORMA PAUPERIS, filed on December 27, 2023, by the pro se appellant.
`
`2. DEFENDANT'S PRO SE NOTICE OF APPEAL, filed on January 9, 2024, by the
`pro se appellant.
`
`The district court granted Michael Cobbs a certificate of appealability regarding the
`denial of his motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Cobbs argued that he is actually innocent of
`his conviction for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and thus his guilty
`plea was not knowing and intelligent. See United States v. Taylor, 142 S. Ct. 2015 (2022).
`The district court ruled that this argument was procedurally barred because Cobbs
`could have raised it in a timely motion to withdraw the plea or on direct review. But the
`
`
`
`Case: 23-3140 Document: 14 Filed: 03/18/2024 Pages: 2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Page 2
`
`No. 23-3140
`
`
`district court also concluded that reasonable jurists could debate whether Cobbs could
`excuse his prior failure to challenge the validity of his plea. See Bousley v. United
`States, 523 U.S. 614, 621 (1998); Lewis v. Peterson, 329 F.3d 934 (7th Cir. 2003).
`
`IT IS ORDERED that Cobbs’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis is DENIED because
`he has not shown that he is indigent. Cobbs shall pay the required appellate filing fees
`within 14 days, or this appeal will be dismissed for failure to prosecute pursuant to
`Circuit Rule 3(b).
`
`Although we find that Cobbs is capable of paying the filing fees, we have also
`determined that he does not have sufficient funds to hire an attorney and thus is
`financially eligible for representation under the Criminal Justice Act. Accordingly,
`
`IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Cobbs pays the filing fees, this court will appoint
`counsel to represent him. Once this court receives notice that the filing fee has been
`paid, it will issue an order addressing the appointment of counsel.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`form name: c7_Order_3J (form ID: 177)
`
`
`
Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.
After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.
Accept $ Charge
This document could not be displayed.
We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
Set your membership
status to view this document.
With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll
get a whole lot more, including:
- Up-to-date information for this case.
- Email alerts whenever there is an update.
- Full text search for other cases.
- Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.
One Moment Please
The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.
Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.
Your document is on its way!
If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.
Sealed Document
We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.
If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.
Access Government Site
