UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 98-7518

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus

FREDDIE DOUGLAS WIDENER, Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Alexander Williams, Jr., District Judge. (CR-90-251, CA-98-2012-AW)

Submitted: March 11, 1999 Decided: March 17, 1999

Before WIDENER and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges, and PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Freddie Douglas Widener, Appellant Pro Se. Joseph Lee Evans, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Freddie Douglas Widener seeks to appeal the district court’s order granting the Government’s motion to dismiss, dismissing his motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998), and denying his motion to amend the § 2255 motion. We have reviewed the record and the district court’s opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court. See United States v. Widener, Nos. CR-90-251, CA-98-2012-AW (D. Md. Aug. 18, 1998).* 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 August 17, 1998, the district court’s records show that it was entered on the docket sheet on August 18, 1998. Pursuant to Rules and 79(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is the date that the order is 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, 1234-45 (4th Cir. 1986).