United States v. Edmond Leon Leopard

This matter is before the court on defendant’s application for a certificate of appeala-bility (COA). Defendant seeks to appeal from an order denying his motion to vacate, set aside or correct sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. For procedural reasons explained below, we grant COA, vacate the order denying the § 2255 motion, and remand the case with directions to appoint counsel and conduct further proceedings. 1 We do not, however, express any opinion on the ultimate disposition of the substantive grounds raised in the motion.

This court’s opinion on defendant’s direct appeal sets out the…