UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 00-6847

ROGER GENE POWERS,

Petitioner - Appellant,

versus

COLIE L. RUSHTON, Warden; CHARLES M. CONDON, Attorney General of the State of South Carolina,

Respondents - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Margaret B. Seymour, District Judge. (CA-99-3128-3-24BC)

Submitted: November 30, 2000 Decided: December 27, 2000

Before WIDENER, NIEMEYER, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Roger Gene Powers, Appellant Pro Se. Jeffrey Alan Jacobs, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

Roger Gene Powers seeks to appeal the district court’s order

denying relief on his petition filed under

(West

1994 & Supp. 2000). We have reviewed the record and the district

court’s opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny

a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the rea-

soning of the district court. See Powers v. Rushton, No. CA-99-

3128-3-24BC (D.S.C. May 31, 2000). We further deny Appellee’s

motion to dismiss the appeal* and Powers’ motion to stay pending

request for a certificate of appealability. 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

* In the absence of a separate motion for certificate of ap- pealability, Powers’ notice of appeal is construed as a motion for a certificate of appealability in this court. Fed. R. App. P. 22(b).

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