Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. David A. HICKS, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2013-01-24
Citations: 507 F. App'x 295
Docket Number: No. 12-7241
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. David A. HICKS, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before WILKINSON and NIEMEYER, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 507
Pages: 295–296

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. David A. HICKS, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 12-7241.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Jan. 22, 2013.
Decided: Jan. 24, 2013.
David A. Hicks, Appellant Pro Se.
Louise Anna Forbes, Steven Loew, Assistant United States Attorneys, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Before WILKINSON and NIEMEYER, Circuit Judges.
The opinion is filed by a quorum pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 46(d).

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
David A. Hicks seeks to appeal the district court's order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying relief on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp.2012) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2006). 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) (2006). 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 motion 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 Hicks 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.