Kareem Herrera v. Willard Hall

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Kareem Herrera v. Willard Hall, 550 F. App'x 170 (4th Cir. 2014)

Kareem Herrera v. Willard Hall

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Kareem Herrera seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing as time-barred his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2012). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). 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 petition 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 Herrera has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal con *171 tentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED.

Reference

Full Case Name
Kareem HERRERA, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Willard HALL, Respondent-Appellee
Status
Unpublished