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United States v. Smith

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Nov 29, 2022
No. 22-6890 (4th Cir. Nov. 29, 2022)

Opinion

22-6890

11-29-2022

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DAVID ELIJAH SMITH, a/k/a Miami Dave, Defendant-Appellant.

David Elijah Smith, Appellant Pro Se.


UNPUBLISHED

Submitted: November 22, 2022

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (7:16-cr-00120-D-11)

David Elijah Smith, Appellant Pro Se.

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

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM

David Elijah Smith seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B). 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 motion 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 Smith has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Smith's motion for 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


Summaries of

United States v. Smith

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Nov 29, 2022
No. 22-6890 (4th Cir. Nov. 29, 2022)
Case details for

United States v. Smith

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DAVID ELIJAH SMITH…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Date published: Nov 29, 2022

Citations

No. 22-6890 (4th Cir. Nov. 29, 2022)