Patrick Towe v. George Solomon , 595 F. App'x 241 ( 2015 )


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  •                               UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 14-7319
    PATRICK LOREN TOWE,
    Petitioner - Appellant,
    v.
    GEORGE SOLOMON,
    Respondent - Appellee.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
    District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles,
    District Judge. (1:14-cv-00196-CCE-JEP)
    Submitted:   February 25, 2015              Decided:   March 3, 2015
    Before NIEMEYER, KING, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.
    Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Patrick Loren Towe, Appellant Pro Se. Clarence Joe DelForge,
    III, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North
    Carolina, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Patrick Loren Towe seeks to appeal the district court’s
    order denying relief on his 
    28 U.S.C. § 2254
     (2012) petition.
    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
    Towe has not made the requisite showing.                     Accordingly, we deny
    Towe’s motion for 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
    2
    adequately   presented   in   the   materials   before   this   court   and
    argument would not aid the decisional process.
    DISMISSED
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-7319

Citation Numbers: 595 F. App'x 241

Filed Date: 3/3/2015

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 1/13/2023