Mark French v. Michael Bivens ( 2022 )

USCA4 Appeal: 22-6137 Doc: 5 Filed: 08/25/2022 Pg: 1 of 2
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 22-6137
MARK FRENCH,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
OFFICER MICHAEL BIVENS; MARYLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Respondents - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.
Catherine C. Blake, Senior District Judge. (1:21-cv-02736-CCB)
Submitted: August 23, 2022 Decided: August 25, 2022
Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, HEYTENS, Circuit Judge, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit
Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Mark French, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 22-6137 Doc: 5 Filed: 08/25/2022 Pg: 2 of 2
PER CURIAM:
Mark French seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing his 28 U.S.C.
§ 2254 petition as an unauthorized, successive § 2254 petition. 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, 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 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 French 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
*
To the extent that French wishes to obtain authorization from this court to file a
successive § 2254 petition, he may file such a motion directly in this court pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2244.
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