The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability to Colorado prisoner Craig Martin Stice in his challenge to a lower court's rejection of his federal habeas corpus petition, according to a court order filed Jan. 12, 2026.
Stice, who is representing himself pro se, sought the certificate to appeal the district court's denial of his petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, which allows state prisoners to challenge their convictions in federal court. The three-judge panel consisting of Circuit Judges McHugh, Moritz, and Carson denied the request and dismissed the matter.
The case stems from Stice's November 2018 conviction by a Colorado jury on eight felony counts: four counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and four counts of sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse. The convictions were based on evidence that Stice sexually assaulted his roommate's eight-year-old daughter, identified in court documents as D.M.
A certificate of appealability is a threshold requirement that prisoners must meet before they can appeal the denial of their habeas corpus petitions to federal appeals courts. The standard requires petitioners to make a substantial showing that constitutional issues were involved in their conviction or that reasonable jurists could debate whether the petition should have been resolved differently.
The Tenth Circuit's order indicates that Stice failed to meet this legal standard, effectively ending his current federal challenge to his state court conviction and imprisonment. The court's denial means Stice cannot proceed with his appeal of the district court's decision rejecting his habeas petition.
Federal habeas corpus proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 provide a mechanism for state prisoners to challenge their convictions in federal court, typically on constitutional grounds. These cases often involve claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, or violations of due process rights during the original trial or sentencing.
Stice's case was originally filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado under case number 1:24-CV-01846-CNS. The district court denied his habeas petition, prompting Stice to seek permission to appeal that decision to the Tenth Circuit.
The named respondents in the case are Bergman and the Attorney General of the State of Colorado, representing the state's interests in defending the conviction. It is common practice in habeas corpus cases for prisoners to name both their immediate custodian and the state's top law enforcement official as respondents.
Pro se litigation, where individuals represent themselves without legal counsel, is common in prisoner habeas corpus cases. However, these cases involve complex legal standards and procedural requirements that can be challenging for non-lawyers to navigate effectively.
The Tenth Circuit's order notes that it "is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel." However, the order may be cited for its persuasive value under federal appellate rules.
The court's decision represents a significant setback for Stice's efforts to challenge his conviction through the federal court system. While the denial of a certificate of appealability does not prevent a prisoner from potentially filing future habeas petitions under certain circumstances, it closes off this particular avenue of appeal.
Child sexual assault cases involving positions of trust carry serious legal consequences and often result in lengthy prison sentences. Colorado law specifically addresses situations where defendants are in positions of trust relative to child victims, recognizing the particular vulnerability of children in such circumstances.
The pattern of abuse allegations in Stice's case suggest the prosecution presented evidence of multiple incidents over time, which can be a significant factor in both conviction and sentencing. Colorado juries in such cases typically hear detailed testimony about the alleged abuse and its impact on the victim.
For Stice, the denial effectively exhausts his current federal appellate options regarding his 2018 conviction. The case demonstrates the high legal bar that prisoners must clear to successfully challenge state court convictions in federal court, particularly when representing themselves without legal counsel.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals handles appeals from federal district courts in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. The court regularly reviews habeas corpus petitions from state prisoners across its jurisdiction, with certificates of appealability being denied in the majority of cases that reach the appellate level.