628 F. App'x 188

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Michael Alonza RUFUS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 15-7418.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Submitted: Jan. 5, 2016.

Decided: Jan. 8, 2016.

Michael Alonza Rufus, Appellant Pro Se. William Kenneth Witherspoon, Beth Drake, Assistant United States Attorneys, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Before WILKINSON and NIEMEYER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Michael Alonza Rufus seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying his motion for reconsideration of the district court’s order denying and dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appeal-ability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2012). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2012).

*189When the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims is debatable or wrong. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003). When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable, and that the motion states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85, 120 S.Ct. 1595.

We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Rufus has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED.

United States v. Rufus
628 F. App'x 188

Case Details

Name
United States v. Rufus
Decision Date
Jan 8, 2016
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628 F. App'x 188

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United States

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