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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 21-6575 MICHAEL E. GARNER, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HAROLD CLARKE, Director, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Michael F. Urbanski, Chief District Judge. (7:18-cv-00560-MFU-JCH) Submitted: February 14, 2022 Decided: February 24, 2022 Before THACKER and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Michael E. Garner, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Michael E. Garner seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his
28 U.S.C. § 2254petition. 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 Garner has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Garner’s motion for appointment of counsel, 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 2
Document Info
Docket Number: 21-6575
Filed Date: 2/24/2022
Precedential Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 2/24/2022