UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 99-7439

WILLIE JOHNSON, Petitioner - Appellant, versus

WILLIAM D. CATOE, Director of SCDC; CHARLES M.

CONDON, Attorney General for the State of South Carolina, Respondents - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Rock Hill. Matthew J. Perry, Jr., Senior Dis- trict Judge. (CA-99-1070-0-10BD)

Submitted: December 16, 1999 Decided: December 22, 1999

Before MURNAGHAN and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER, Senior Cir- cuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Willie Johnson, Appellant Pro Se. Donald John Zelenka, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Willie Johnson appeals the district court’s order denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 & Supp. 1999). We have reviewed the record and the district court’s opinion accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the dis- trict court. See Johnson v. Catoe, No. CA-99-1070-0-10BD (D.S.C. Oct. 12, 1999).* 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

* Although the district court’s order is marked as “filed” on October 8, 1999, the district court’s records show that it was entered on the docket sheet on October 12, 1999. Pursuant to Rules and 79(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is the date entered on the docket sheet that we take as the effective date of the district court’s decision. See Wilson v. Murray, 806 F.2d 1232, 1234-35 (4th Cir. 1986).