UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 00-6989

ROBERT DALE STRICKLER,

Petitioner - Appellant,

versus

RONALD J. ANGELONE, Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections,

Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Virginia, at Norfolk. Rebecca B. Smith, District Judge. (CA-98-1200-2)

Submitted: November 7, 2000 Decided: December 4, 2000

Before LUTTIG, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Robert Dale Strickler, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Bain Smith, As- sistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM:

Robert Dale Strickler appeals the denial of his Fed. R. Civ.

P. 60(b) motion, which sought relief from a judgment denying relief

on his

(West 1994 & Supp. 2000) petition. Be-

cause Strickler’s Rule 60(b) motion was tantamount to a successive

§ 2254 application, we conclude the district court lacked juris-

diction to consider it absent authorization from this Court. See

(b) (West Supp. 2000); United States v. Rich,

(5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied,

(1999).

Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss

Strickler’s appeal of the denial of the motion. We dispense with

oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequate-

ly presented in the materials before the court and argument would

not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED

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