Case Name: Rojai Lavar FENTRESS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-03-30
Citations: 682 F. App'x 252
Docket Number: No. 16-7144
Parties: Rojai Lavar FENTRESS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before MOTZ and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 682
Pages: 252–253

Head Matter:
Rojai Lavar FENTRESS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 16-7144
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: March 21, 2017
Decided: March 30, 2017
Rojai Lavar Fentress, Appellant Pro Se.
Christopher P. Schandevel, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for Ap-pellee.
Before MOTZ and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Rojai Lavar Fentress 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 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 Fentress has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, ánd 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