Case Name: John ALLISON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee, and Attorney General of the State of Virginia; Warden of the Green Rock Correctional Center, Respondents
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-10-25
Citations: 670 F. App'x 93
Docket Number: No. 16-6803
Parties: John ALLISON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee, and Attorney General of the State of Virginia; Warden of the Green Rock Correctional Center, Respondents.
Judges: Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and NIEMEYER and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 670
Pages: 93–94

Head Matter:
John ALLISON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee, and Attorney General of the State of Virginia; Warden of the Green Rock Correctional Center, Respondents.
No. 16-6803
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: October 17, 2016
Decided: October 25, 2016
John Allison, Appellant Pro Se. Donald Eldridge Jeffrey, III, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and NIEMEYER and AGEE, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
John Allison seeks to appeal the district court's order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and 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, 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 Allison 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