Owen Leavitt v. Carlton Joyner

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Owen Leavitt v. Carlton Joyner, 672 F. App'x 301 (4th Cir. 2017)

Owen Leavitt v. Carlton Joyner

Opinion

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Owen D. Leavitt seeks to appeal the district court’s orders dismissing as untimely his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition and denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) motion. These orders are not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2012). 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) (2012). *302 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 Leavitt has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We deny Leavitt’s motion for appointment of counsel. 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

Reference

Full Case Name
Owen D. LEAVITT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Carlton B. JOYNER, Respondent-Appellee
Status
Unpublished