Frankie Miller, Jr. v. Harold Clarke

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Frankie Miller, Jr. v. Harold Clarke, 699 F. App'x 264 (4th Cir. 2017)

Frankie Miller, Jr. v. Harold Clarke

Opinion

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Adam Pelletier seeks to appeal from the district court’s order dismissing as time-barred and partially proeedurally defaulted his second 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The district court’s order is not ap-pealable 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) (2012). 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 Pelletier has not made the requisite showing. In the absence of prefiling authorization from this court, the district court lacked jurisdiction to hear this successive § 2254 petition. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3) (2012). 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 contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED

Reference

Full Case Name
Adam PELLETIER, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee
Status
Unpublished