Case Name: Eugene Jerome CUNNINGHAM, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Darlene DREW, Warden-FCI Bennettsville, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2012-10-16
Citations: 482 F. App'x 858
Docket Number: No. 12-7246
Parties: Eugene Jerome CUNNINGHAM, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Darlene DREW, Warden—FCI Bennettsville, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before KING, DUNCAN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 482
Pages: 858–858

Head Matter:
Eugene Jerome CUNNINGHAM, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Darlene DREW, Warden—FCI Bennettsville, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 12-7246.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Oct. 11, 2012.
Decided: Oct. 16, 2012.
Eugene Jerome Cunningham, Appellant Pro se. Barbara Murcier Bowens, Assistant United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Before KING, DUNCAN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Eugene Jerome Cunningham, a District of Columbia prisoner housed in federal custody, seeks to appeal the district court's order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying relief on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2241 (West 2006 & Supp. 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) (2006); Madley v. U.S. Parole Comm'n, 278 F.3d 1306, 1309 (D.C.Cir.2002) ("[W]e conclude that a court of the District [of Columbia] is a state court for the purpose of [§ 2253(c)]."). 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) (2006). 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 Cunningham has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED.