Opinion
No. 20-6466
09-29-2020
ZACHARY DONTE WALLACE, a/k/a Zachary Dante Wallace, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HAROLD W. CLARKE, Director Virginia Department of Corrections, Respondent - Appellee.
Zachary Donte Wallace, Appellant Pro Se.
UNPUBLISHED
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Robert E. Payne, Senior District Judge. (3:19-cv-00350-REP-RCY) Before HARRIS and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Zachary Donte Wallace, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Zachary Donte Wallace seeks to appeal the district court's order dismissing as untimely his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition. See Gonzalez v. Thaler, 565 U.S. 134, 148 & n.9 (2012) (explaining that § 2254 petitions are subject to one-year statute of limitations, running from latest of four commencement dates enumerated in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d)(1)). The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 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, as here, 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, 565 U.S. at 140-41 (citing Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)).
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Wallace 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 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.
This statute of limitations does not apply to the challenges related to the state postconviction proceedings that Wallace raised before the district court. However, the district court properly determined that those alleged errors could not be challenged in a § 2254 proceeding. See Lawrence v. Branker, 517 F.3d 700, 717 (4th Cir. 2008). Therefore, Wallace is not entitled to a certificate of appealability on these challenges. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). --------
DISMISSED