Case Name: Johnny Ray CHAPMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. C. ALLEN, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-04-04
Citations: 684 F. App'x 291
Docket Number: No. 17-6016
Parties: Johnny Ray CHAPMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. C. ALLEN, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before TRAXLER and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 684
Pages: 291–292

Head Matter:
Johnny Ray CHAPMAN, Petitioner-Appellant, v. C. ALLEN, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 17-6016
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: March 30, 2017
Decided: April 4, 2017
Johnny Ray Chapman, Appellant Pro Se. Virginia Bidwell Theisen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before TRAXLER and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. '
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Johnny Ray Chapman seeks to appeal the magistrate judge's order dismissing as untimely 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 ap-pealability will not issue absent "a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2258(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, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (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, 120 S.Ct. 1595.
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Chapman 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 presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
The parties consented to the jurisdiction of a federal magistrate judge pursuant to - 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) (2012).