Opinion
No. 17-7649
04-23-2018
CHARLES FRANK CANALE, JR., Petitioner - Appellant, v. HAROLD W. CLARKE, Virginia Department of Corrections, Respondent - Appellee.
Domingo J. Rivera, DOMINGO J. RIVERA, ATTORNEY AT LAW, PLC, Ashburn, Virginia, for Appellant.
UNPUBLISHED
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Robert E. Payne, Senior District Judge. (3:16-cv-00400-REP-RCY) Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and THACKER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Domingo J. Rivera, DOMINGO J. RIVERA, ATTORNEY AT LAW, PLC, Ashburn, Virginia, for Appellant. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Charles Frank Canale, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition and its subsequent order denying his motion to alter or amend judgment. The orders are not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 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 Canale 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