Harold Hartge v. James McDonough

Harold Hartge, a Florida prisoner serving three concurrent natural life sentences for capital sexual battery, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus, filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Hartge filed his petition after the effective date of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”), Pub.L. No. 104-32, 1Í0 Stat. 1214 (1996). Therefore, the provisions of the AEDPA govern this appeal. We granted a certificate of appealability (“COA”) on the following issues:(1) Whether the district court improperly determined that…