UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 99-7095

DONNIE MCFARLIN, Petitioner - Appellant, versus

D. A. GARRAGHTY, Warden, Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. James C. Cacheris, Senior Dis- trict Judge. (CA-99-718)

Submitted: February 10, 2000 Decided: February 15, 2000

Before WIDENER and NIEMEYER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Donnie McFarlin, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Donnie McFarlin seeks to appeal 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 and find no reversible error.1 Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court. See McFarlin v. Garraghty, No. CA-99-718 (E.D. Va. July 8, 1999).2 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

We note that McFarlin’s conviction became final on the date the judgment of conviction was entered on the trial court’s docket, not the date of his guilty plea. Nevertheless, this petition was not timely filed.

Although the district court’s order is marked as “filed” on July 7, 1999, the district court’s records show that it was entered on the docket sheet on July 8, 1999. Pursuant to Rules 58 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).