Case Name: Joseph Dixon MIDYETTE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Terrence W. Boyle, Judge; Attorney General of the United States, Respondents-Appellees
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-03-02
Citations: 633 F. App'x 202
Docket Number: No. 15-7927
Parties: Joseph Dixon MIDYETTE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Terrence W. Boyle, Judge; Attorney General of the United States, Respondents-Appellees.
Judges: Before SHEDD and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 633
Pages: 202–202

Head Matter:
Joseph Dixon MIDYETTE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America; Terrence W. Boyle, Judge; Attorney General of the United States, Respondents-Appellees.
No. 15-7927.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Feb. 25, 2016.
Decided: March 2, 2016.
Joseph Dixon Midyette, Appellant pro se.
Before SHEDD and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Joseph Dixon Midyette seeks to appeal the district court's orders dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition as successive and denying his Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e) motion for reconsideration. The order is not ap-pealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certifícate of appealability. See 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 Midyette 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.