Dominguez v. Rios

── Dominguez v. Rios ── Case No.: 25-2137 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 07, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-2137 Document: 12-1 Date Filed: 04/07/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 7, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court JESUS DOMINGUEZ, Petitioner - Appellant, v. No. 25-2137 (D.C. No. 2:22-CV-00942-MV-SCY) M. RIOS; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF (D.N.M.) THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, Respondents - Appellees. _________________________________ ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY * _________________________________ Before TYMKOVICH, PHILLIPS, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Jesus Dominguez, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, requests a certificate of appealability (COA) to appeal the district court’s order dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition. 1 He also requests to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP). This order is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of * the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. Because Dominguez proceeds pro se, we liberally construe his 1 arguments but do not act as his advocate. See Greer v. Moon, 83 F.4th 1283, 1292 (10th Cir. 2023).  Appellate Case: 25-2137 Document: 12-1 Date Filed: 04/07/2026 Page: 2 Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253, we deny Dominguez’s IFP motion, deny a COA, and dismiss this matter. BACKGROUND In September 2011, a New Mexico jury convicted Dominguez of first- degree kidnapping and second-degree criminal sexual penetration while armed with a deadly weapon. The state court sentenced him to twenty-seven years’ imprisonment. But it later reduced his sentence to eighteen years after finding that the jury’s kidnapping verdict supported only a conviction for second- degree kidnapping. Both Dominguez and the state appealed. The New Mexico Court of Appeals found that the district court erred by modifying Dominguez’s sentence, so it ordered the district court to reinstate his conviction for first-degree kidnapping. Dominguez then appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court, but it denied certiorari on May 30, 2014. Dominguez did not seek review by the Supreme Court of the United States. In January 2015, the state district court amended its judgment to reinstate Dominguez’s original twenty-seven-year sentence. Dominguez filed a motion to reconsider his sentence, but the state district court denied it on November 8, 2016. Dominguez did not appeal that order. Nothing happened for years. Then, in 2019, a new lawyer filed an appearance on Dominguez’s behalf in state court. But Dominguez later terminated that relationship. 2  Appellate Case: 25-2137 Document: 12-1 Date Filed: 04/07/2026 Page: 3 In March 2021, Dominguez filed several post-conviction motions for discovery and reconsideration. He also filed a state habeas petition in December 2021. The state district court denied those motions and habeas relief. On September 23, 2022, the New Mexico Supreme Court denied Dominguez’s petition for certiorari. Dominguez filed his § 2254 petition in federa