Frankie Miller, Jr. v. Harold Clarke
Frankie Miller, Jr. v. Harold Clarke
Opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 21-6692
FRANKIE M. MILLER, JR.,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
HAROLD W. CLARKE, Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Mark S. Davis, Chief District Judge. (2:16-cv-00645-MSD-DEM)
Submitted: November 18, 2021 Decided: November 19, 2021
Before MOTZ, THACKER, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Frankie M. Miller, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Frankie M. Miller, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying his Fed. R.
Civ. P. 60(b) motion for relief from the district court’s prior order denying relief on his
28 U.S.C. § 2254petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge
issues a certificate of appealability.
28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A). See generally United
States v. McRae,
793 F.3d 392, 400 & n.7 (4th Cir. 2015). 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 Miller 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- Unpublished