United States v. Douglas Whitfield

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States v. Douglas Whitfield, 546 F. App'x 304 (4th Cir. 2013)

United States v. Douglas Whitfield

Opinion

Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Douglas Gene Whitfield seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2013) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2006). A certificate of ap-pealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2006). When the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims is debatable or wrong. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003). When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable, and that the motion states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85, 120 S.Ct. 1595.

We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Whitfield has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. * We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED.

*

Whitfield also seeks to appeal the district court’s denial of his Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e) motion. We conclude that we lack jurisdiction over an appeal from that motion because Whitfield did not file a new notice of appeal or amend his notice of appeal to embrace the district court’s order. See Fed. R.App. P. 4(a)(4)(B)(ii).

Reference

Full Case Name
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Douglas Gene WHITFIELD, Defendant-Appellant
Status
Unpublished