United States v. Gerald Michael

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

United States v. Gerald Michael

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 17-7518

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

GERALD EUGENE MICHAEL,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles, District Judge. (1:10-cr-00379-CCE-1; 1:14-cv-00026- CCE-LPA)

Submitted: April 19, 2018 Decided: April 23, 2018

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and THACKER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Gerald Eugene Michael, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

Gerald Eugene Michael seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the

recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motions for

reconsideration of the district court’s order denying relief on his

28 U.S.C. § 2255

(2012)

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) (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

(2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell,

537 U.S. 322, 336-38

(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

.

We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Michael 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

2

Reference

Status
Unpublished