MARGARET B. SEYMOUR, Senior District Judge.
Petitioner Anthony Tommy Wilson is an inmate in custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Petitioner currently is housed at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. On May 26, 2015, Petitioner, proceeding pro se, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Petitioner contends he was denied effective assistance of counsel in various respects. In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and Local Rule 73.02, D.S.C., this matter was referred to United States Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant for pretrial handling.
On September 23, 2015, Respondent Robert M. Stevenson, III filed a return and memorandum in response to Petitioner's § 2254 petition, as well as a motion for summary judgment. On September 24, 2015, pursuant to
On February 24, 2016, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation in which he throughly recounted the facts of the underlying state action, including Petitioner's post-conviction relief (PCR) action before the Honorable William H. Seals. The Magistrate Judge applied the deferential standard of review set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) and concluded as to Ground One that the PCR judge's findings that Petitioner did not receive ineffective assistance of trial counsel did not result in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law, or resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented below. The Magistrate Judge further determined that Petitioner's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel as set forth in Ground Two was procedurally defaulted. Accordingly, the Magistrate Judge recommended that Respondent's motion for summary judgment be granted and that Petitioner's § 2254 petition be dismissed, with prejudice. Despite being granted an extension of time, Petitioner filed no objections to the Report and Recommendation.
The Magistrate Judge makes only a recommendation to this court. The recommendation has no presumptive weight. The responsibility for making a final determination remains with this court.
The court has thoroughly reviewed the record. The court concurs in the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge and incorporates it herein by reference. Respondent's motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 19) is
A certificate of appealability will not issue absent "a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). A prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that any assessment of the constitutional claims by the district court is debatable or wrong and that any dispositive procedural ruling by the district court is likewise debatable.