Ferguson v. McNeil

Before BIRCH, WILSON and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.

John Errol Ferguson (“Ferguson”), a Florida prisoner convicted of murder and sentenced to death, filed a federal habeas corpus petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in which he made at least eleven claims. He also moved to stay the federal habeas proceedings based on his alleged incompetency, a motion denied by the district court, which held an evidentiary hearing on the issue and found him competent to proceed with the petition. The court subsequently denied Ferguson’s petition in its entirety, but granted a certificate of appealability (“COA”) on all of the issues raised therein. Ferguson has appealed the district court’s dismissal of nine of his claims and also challenges that court’s denial of his motion to stay the proceedings. The State of Florida filed a cross-appeal regarding the district court’s decision to hold an evidentiary hearing on the issue of Ferguson’s competency. After thoroughly reviewing the record and the parties’ briefs and hearing oral argument, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of Ferguson’s petition and motion to stay.