594 F. App'x 190

Roger STEVENSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Sorrell SAUNDERS, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 14-7773.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Submitted: Feb. 25, 2015.

Decided: March 2, 2015.

Roger Stevenson, Appellant Pro Se.

Before NIEMEYER, KING, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Roger Stevenson seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing as time-barred his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition.* The order is not appealable unless *191a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2258(c)(1)(A) (2012). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2258(c)(2). When 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. 478, 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 petition 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 Stevenson has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny his motion for a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, 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.

Stevenson v. Saunders
594 F. App'x 190

Case Details

Name
Stevenson v. Saunders
Decision Date
Mar 2, 2015
Citations

594 F. App'x 190

Jurisdiction
United States

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