UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT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Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (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 28 U.S.C.A. § 2244(b) (West Supp. 2000); United States v. Rich, 141 F.3d 550, 551 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1011 (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