Whether the Court of Appeals erred below in denying Mr. Oliver a COA on whether trial counsel was ineffective in not subpoenaing Mr. Oliver's telephone records for potential use at trial

QUESTION PRESENTED A federal habeas petitioner challenging a state conviction cannot obtain appellate review unless and until a certificate of appealability (“COA”) issues. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). A COA must issue whenever “reasonable jurists could debate whether ... the petition should have been resolved in a different manner or that the issues presented were adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.” Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). Below, both the district court and the Eleventh Circuit refused to issue a COA on Issue 1 raised in Mr. Oliver’s habeas petition challenging his two life sentences plus twenty years—that is, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel where trial counsel failed to subpoena Mr. Oliver’s telephone records for potential use at trial. Those records, trial counsel admitted during the evidentiary hearings on his ineffectiveness, would have been “particularly valuable” to the defense. Further, trial counsel testified that he would have used them if he had had them because they were inconsistent with the complaining witness’ testimony—and, as the Eleventh Circuit held below, “the case against Oliver hinged largely on [the victim’s] credibility.” [App. at 11]. The question presented in this Petition is whether the Court of Appeals erred below in denying Mr. Oliver a COA on whether trial counsel was ineffective in not subpoenaing Mr. Oliver’s telephone records for potential use at trial. The Court should summarily reverse the denial of the COA and remand for the Court of Appeals to consider the merits of that claim. i