Case Name: Ryricka Nikita CUSTIS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-08-01
Citations: 580 F. App'x 224
Docket Number: No. 14-6652
Parties: Ryricka Nikita CUSTIS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 580
Pages: 224–225

Head Matter:
Ryricka Nikita CUSTIS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 14-6652.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: July 29, 2014.
Decided: Aug. 1, 2014.
Ryricka Nikita Custis, Appellant Pro Se. Benjamin Hyman Katz, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before NIEMEYER, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
Ryricka Nikita Custis seeks to appeal the district court's order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying relief on Custis' 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appeal-able unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2012). A certificate of ap-pealability will not issue absent "a substan-tiál 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 Custis 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 further deny Cus-tis' motion to appoint counsel. 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.