Kareem Currence v. Donna Smith ( 2018 )


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  •                                     UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 18-6932
    KAREEM JAMAL CURRENCE,
    Petitioner - Appellant,
    v.
    DONNA M. SMITH,
    Respondent - Appellee.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at
    Raleigh. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (5:18-hc-02027-D)
    Submitted: November 15, 2018                                Decided: November 20, 2018
    Before MOTZ and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
    Affirmed in part, dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Kareem Jamal Currence, Appellant Pro Se. Christopher Michael Anderson, OFFICE OF
    THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Kareem Jamal Currence, a federal prisoner, appeals the district court’s order
    dismissing his self-styled 28 U.S.C. § 2241 (2012) motion. The district court dismissed
    the petition in part for failure to state a claim, and in part because it determined that it
    lacked jurisdiction over what it construed to be a successive habeas motion. We affirm in
    part and dismiss in part.
    As to the district court’s dismissal of Currence’s constitutional challenges for
    failure to state a claim, we have reviewed the record and find no reversible error.
    Accordingly, we affirm this portion of the district court’s order for the reasons stated by
    the district court. See Currence v. Smith, No. 5:18-hc-02027-D (E.D.N.C. July 20, 2018).
    To the extent the district court construed Currence’s challenges as successive and
    unauthorized habeas claims that should have been brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255
    (2012), that portion of the district court’s order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or
    judge issues a certificate of appealability.         28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (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 motion states a debatable claim of the denial of a
    2
    constitutional right. 
    Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85
    . We have independently reviewed the
    record and conclude that Currence has not made the requisite showing.
    Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal, in part.
    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.
    AFFIRMED IN PART,
    DISMISSED IN PART
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 18-6932

Filed Date: 11/20/2018

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/17/2021