UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 99-6338

TIMOTHY D. HILLIARD, Petitioner - Appellant, versus

JACK LEE, Warden, Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District Judge. (CA-98-1671-AM)

Submitted: January 20, 2000 Decided: January 28, 2000

Before WILLIAMS, MICHAEL, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Timothy D. Hilliard, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Timothy D. Hilliard seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing without prejudice 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 and find no reversible error. Accord- ingly, we deny Hilliard’s motion to change the name of Respondent, a certificate of appealability, and dismiss the appeal on the rea- soning of the district court. See Hilliard v. Lee, No. CA-98-1671- AM (E.D. Va. Feb. 3, 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 stamped “filed” on January 27, 1999, the district court’s records show that it was entered on the docket sheet on February 3, 1999. Pursuant to Rules and 79(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is the date the order was 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).