UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 98-7465

ROBERT CHARLES JOHNSTON, Petitioner - Appellant, versus

NORTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL; STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, Respondents - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle Dis- trict of North Carolina, at Durham. Paul Trevor Sharp, Magistrate Judge. (CA-97-1216-1)

Submitted: April 20, 1999 Decided: May 13, 1999

Before ERVIN, WILKINS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Thomas Franklin Loflin, III, LOFLIN & LOFLIN, Durham, North Caro- lina, for Appellant. Clarence Joe DelForge, III, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NORTH CAROLINA, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Robert Charles Johnston seeks to appeal the magistrate judge’s order denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998). We have reviewed the record and the mag- istrate judge’s opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the magistrate judge. See Johnston v. North Caro- lina Attorney Gen., No. CA-97-1216-1 (M.D.N.C. Sept. 2, 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