Whether the Eighth Circuit's Court of Appeals misapplied the standard for issuing a Certificate of Appealability as dictated by §2253(c)(2) and this Court's controlling precedent enunciated in Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 120 S. Ct. 1595, 146 L. Ed. 2d 542(2000), and if they have "placed too heavy a burden on the prisoner at the COA stage" as prohibited by Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 123 S. Ct. 1029, 154 L. Ed. 2d 931(2003).

Whether the Eighth Circuit's Court of Appeals misapplied the standard for issuing a Certificate of Appealability