UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 96-6207

WILLIAM NATHANIEL AUSTIN, JR., Petitioner - Appellant, versus

WILLIAM SMITH, Warden; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND, Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Herbert N. Maletz, Senior Judge, sitting by designation. (CA-95-649-MJG)

Submitted: May 29, 1997 Decided: June 5, 1997

Before NIEMEYER, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William Nathaniel Austin, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. John Joseph Curran, Jr., Kathryn Grill Graeff, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Appellant seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 & Supp. 1997). We have reviewed the record and the district court's opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a cer- tificate of probable cause to appeal; to the extent that a certif- icate of appealability is required, we deny such a certificate. We dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court. Austin v. Smith, No. CA-95-649-MJG (D. Md. Jan. 18, 1996). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED