Hillary v. Secretary for Department of Corrections

Joseph Hillary, a state prisoner serving a 15-year sentence after conviction for be ing a felon in possession of a firearm, appeals the denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition.

We granted a certificate of appealability on these two issues: 1) whether the district court violated Clisby v. Jones, 960 F.2d 925, 936 (11th Cir.1992) (en banc), when it failed to address Hillary’s claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to move for suppression of the audio-taped confession — which we construe to include, by implication, the merits of the underlying question itself; and 2) whether the…