UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 01-7800

GARY DWAYNE WARD, 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 District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Rebecca B. Smith, District Judge. (CA-00-893-2)

Submitted: April 3, 2002 Decided: April 17, 2002

Before NIEMEYER, LUTTIG, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Gary Dwayne Ward, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Bain Smith, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Gary Dwayne Ward seeks to appeal the district court’s judgment denying his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 & Supp. 2001). 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 reasoning of the district court. See Ward v. Angelone, CA-00-893-2 (E.D. Va. Sept. 27, 2001). We deny Ward’s motion to hold the case in abeyance pending a Supreme Court decision in Mickens v. Taylor, U.S. , 2002 WL 459251 (U.S. Mar. 27, 2002) (No. 00-9285), as moot. 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