Newsome v. Clarke

Full title: DARRIS ALTONY NEWSOME, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HAROLD CLARKE…

Court: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Mar 7, 2018

No. 17-7262 (4th Cir. Mar. 7, 2018)

Opinion

No. 17-7262

03-07-2018

DARRIS ALTONY NEWSOME, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HAROLD CLARKE, Respondent - Appellee.

Darris Altony Newsome, Appellant Pro Se.

PER CURIAM

UNPUBLISHED

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O'Grady, District Judge. (1:17-cv-00890-LO-IDD) Before NIEMEYER, DUNCAN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Darris Altony Newsome, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

Darris Altony Newsome seeks to appeal the district court's order dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition without prejudice as successive. 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 Newsome has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and dismiss the appeal. We deny Newsome's motions to appoint counsel and for an evidentiary hearing, and 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