Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Christopher Raesean JOHNSON, a/k/a C-Murder, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2013-09-10
Citations: 539 F. App'x 211
Docket Number: No. 13-6613
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Christopher Raesean JOHNSON, a/k/a C-Murder, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before DAVIS, KEENAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 539
Pages: 211–212

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Christopher Raesean JOHNSON, a/k/a C-Murder, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 13-6613.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Aug. 30, 2013.
Decided: Sept. 10, 2013.
Christopher Raesean Johnson, Appellant Pro Se. Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, Felice McConnell Corpening, Seth Morgan Wood, Office of the United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Before DAVIS, KEENAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Christopher Raesean Johnson seeks to appeal the district court's order adopting the magistrate judge's recommendation to treat his motion to vacate as a successive 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp.2013) motion and dismissing it on that basis. The district court's dismissal order is not ap-pealable 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 Johnson 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.