Shannon Lancaster v. Perry Correctional Institution

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit November 29, 2022

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 22-6606 Doc: 8 Filed: 11/29/2022 Pg: 1 of 2

No. 22-6606

Petitioner - Appellant,

Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Anderson. Timothy M. Cain, District Judge. (8:21-cv-03591-TMC)

Submitted: November 22, 2022 Decided: November 29, 2022

Before HARRIS and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Shannon Miles Lancaster, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 22-6606 Doc: 8 Filed: 11/29/2022 Pg: 2 of 2

Shannon Miles Lancaster seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the

recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying relief on Lancaster’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 Lancaster 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.