Case Name: Khayr ROOKS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Eddie L. PEARSON, Warden at Sussex I State Prison, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2015-02-19
Citations: 593 F. App'x 245
Docket Number: No. 14-7862
Parties: Khayr ROOKS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Eddie L. PEARSON, Warden at Sussex I State Prison, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before MOTZ, WYNN, and FLOYD, Circuit‘Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 593
Pages: 245–245

Head Matter:
Khayr ROOKS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Eddie L. PEARSON, Warden at Sussex I State Prison, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 14-7862.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Feb. 12, 2015.
Decided: Feb. 19, 2015.
Khayr Rooks, Appellant Pro Se. Craig Stallard, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before MOTZ, WYNN, and FLOYD, Circuit‘Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Khayr Rooks 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 certifícate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2258(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. § 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, 120 S.Ct. 1595.
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Rooks 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.