Robert McNemar v. Ralph Terry

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Robert McNemar v. Ralph Terry

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 18-6334

ROBERT JOE MCNEMAR,

Petitioner - Appellant,

v.

RALPH TERRY, Acting Warden, Mount Olive Correctional Complex,

Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Elkins. John Preston Bailey, District Judge. (2:16-cv-00108-JPB)

Submitted: July 31, 2018 Decided: August 17, 2018

Before MOTZ, WYNN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Robert Joe McNemar, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

Robert Joe McNemar seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the

recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying relief on 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) (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

petition 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 McNemar has not

made the requisite showing. Accordingly, although we grant McNemar’s motion for

leave to file supplemental argument, we deny his motions for a certificate of appealability

and for 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

2

Reference

Status
Unpublished