Bernard Hollomond v. Tracy Ray

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Bernard Hollomond v. Tracy Ray

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 21-6080

BERNARD HOLLOMOND,

Petitioner - Appellant,

v.

TRACY RAY, Warden,

Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Roderick Charles Young, Magistrate Judge. (3:19-cv-00884-RCY)

Submitted: April 22, 2021 Decided: April 27, 2021

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, AGEE, Circuit Judge, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Bernard Hollomond, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

Bernard Hollomond seeks to appeal the magistrate judge’s order denying relief on

Hollomond’s

28 U.S.C. § 2254

petition. * The order is not appealable unless a circuit

justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See

28 U.S.C. § 2253

(c)(1)(A). 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 could find

the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong. See Buck

v. Davis,

137 S. Ct. 759, 773-74

(2017). 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. Gonzalez v. Thaler,

565 U.S. 134, 140-41

(2012) (citing Slack v. McDaniel,

529 U.S. 473, 484

(2000)).

We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Hollomond 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

* The parties consented to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge. See

28 U.S.C. § 636

(c).

2

Reference

Status
Unpublished