UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 03-7464

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

versus

TYRONE SHEPPARD,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Robert E. Payne, District Judge. (CR-83-107)

Submitted: December 18, 2003 Decided: January 16, 2004

Before LUTTIG, SHEDD, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Tyrone Sheppard, Appellant Pro Se. Paul Joseph McNulty, United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

Tyrone Sheppard seeks to appeal the district court’s

order denying relief on his motion filed under

(2000) and, in the alternative, under Fed. R. Crim. P. 35. An

appeal may not be taken from the final order in a § 2255 proceeding

unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of

appealability.

(c)(1) (2000). A certificate of

appealability will not issue for claims addressed by a district

court absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a

constitutional right.”

(c)(2) (2000). A prisoner

satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists

would find both that his constitutional claims are debatable and

that any dispositive procedural rulings by the district court are

also debatable or wrong. See Miller-El v. Cockrell,

(2003); Slack v. McDaniel,

(2000); Rose v.

Lee,

(4th Cir. 2001). We have independently

reviewed the record and conclude that Sheppard has not made the

requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of

appealability and dismiss the appeal. To the extent that Sheppard

appeals the denial of relief under Fed. R. Crim. P. 35, we affirm

the judgment. 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

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