Whether a certificate of appealability is required to appeal an order denying a motion for enforcement made pursuant to Rule 70(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

QUESTION PRESENTED In order to appeal a final order in a habeas corpus proceeding, a state prisoner must obtain a certificate of appealability. See, 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A). In Harbison v. Bell, 556 U.S. 180 (2009), this Court interpreted § 2253(c)(1)(A) narrowly to apply only to “final orders that dispose of the merits of a habeas proceeding,” which it defined as a “proceeding challenging the lawfulness of the petitioner’s detention.” /d. at 183. The question in this case is two-fold. The first issue to be decided is whether a certificate of appealability is required to appeal an order denying a motion for enforcement made pursuant to Rule 70(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The second is, assuming that a certificate of appealability is required, whether the court of appeals correctly concluded that reasonable jurists would not debate whether the district court abused its discretion in denying the Petitioner a certificate of appealability i