Jerry Boyd v. Director, Dept. of Corrections , 604 F. App'x 298 ( 2015 )


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  •                              UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 15-6438
    JERRY E. BOYD,
    Petitioner - Appellant,
    v.
    DIRECTOR, DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS,
    Respondent - Appellee.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
    District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Gerald Bruce Lee, District
    Judge. (1:14-cv-00381-GBL-IDD)
    Submitted:   May 21, 2015                   Decided:   May 27, 2015
    Before MOTZ, KING, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.
    Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Jerry E. Boyd, Appellant Pro Se. Kathleen Beatty Martin, Senior
    Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Jerry E. Boyd 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
    Boyd 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
    2
    presented in the materials before this court and argument would
    not aid the decisional process.
    DISMISSED
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 15-6438

Citation Numbers: 604 F. App'x 298

Filed Date: 5/27/2015

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 1/13/2023