Adair v. Rankins

── Adair v. Rankins ── Case No.: 25-5175 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: March 31, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-5175 Document: 11-1 Date Filed: 03/31/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT March 31, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court STEVEN LEE ADAIR, Petitioner - Appellant, v. No. 25-5175 (D.C. No. 4:23-CV-00061-JFH-SH) CHRIS RANKINS, Warden, (N.D. Okla.) Respondent - Appellee. _________________________________ ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY * _________________________________ Before TYMKOVICH, PHILLIPS, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ Petitioner Steven Adair seeks a certificate of appealability from the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition as untimely. Because the correctness of the district court’s procedural ruling is beyond debate, we DENY the request and DISMISS this appeal. I. Background In November 2015, Adair pleaded guilty in Oklahoma court to two counts of first-degree murder, one count of kidnapping, one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and one count of attempted first-degree arson. In exchange for his * This order is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel.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.  Appellate Case: 25-5175 Document: 11-1 Date Filed: 03/31/2026 Page: 2 plea, the State declined to seek the death penalty, and the court sentenced Adair to incarceration for life without the possibility of parole. He never sought review in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. But in April 2021, Adair applied for postconviction relief in Oklahoma district court, arguing the sentencing court lacked jurisdiction because he is an Indian and the crimes were committed in Indian country. See McGirt v. Oklahoma, 591 U.S. 894, 898 (2020). The court denied Adair’s application in May 2021, and once again, Adair did not appeal. In February 2023, Adair filed a pro se petition for habeas under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the Northern District of Oklahoma. His petition raised three claims: (1) his state incarceration violates his constitutional right to due process because the State lacked jurisdiction to prosecute him for crimes he committed in Indian country; (2) his trial counsel’s failure to investigate and raise the Indian country jurisdiction claim was constitutionally deficient; and (3) the prosecutor deprived him of due process by prosecuting him despite the State’s lack of jurisdiction. The district court determined Adair’s petition was barred by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act’s (AEDPA) statute of limitations because he filed it more than one year after his conviction became final. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1). The court found no grounds to toll the limitations period, dismissed the petition, and declined a certificate of appealability (COA). II. Discussion Adair must secure a COA for this court to consider the merits of his appeal. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 482 (2000). He can only get one if he makes “