Case Name: Darnell M. CLEATON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director; B. W. Booker, Warden of Green Rock, Respondents-Appellees, and Unknown, Respondent
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-02-27
Citations: 678 F. App'x 113
Docket Number: No. 16-7296
Parties: Darnell M. CLEATON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director; B. W. Booker, Warden of Green Rock, Respondents-Appellees, and Unknown, Respondent.
Judges: Before SHEDD and DIAZ, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 678
Pages: 113–113

Head Matter:
Darnell M. CLEATON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director; B. W. Booker, Warden of Green Rock, Respondents-Appellees, and Unknown, Respondent.
No. 16-7296
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: February 23, 2017
Decided: February 27, 2017
Darnell M. Cleaton, Appellant Pro Se. Virginia Bidwell Theisen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
Before SHEDD and DIAZ, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Darnell M. Cleaton seeks to appeal the district court'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 ap-pealability. 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 dis-tnct court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that the district court's assessment bf 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 Cleaton 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