Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Paul Alonzo EWING, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2018-01-26
Citations: 709 F. App'x 237
Docket Number: No. 17-7243
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Paul Alonzo EWING, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before KING and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 709
Pages: 237–238

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Paul Alonzo EWING, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 17-7243
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: January 18, 2018
Decided: January 26, 2018
Paul Alonzo Ewing, Appellant Pro Se. Charles Dee Griffith, Jr., Newport News, Virginia, Melissa Elaine O’Boyle, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before KING and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Paul Alonzo Ewing seeks to appeal the district court's order construing his "Complaint for Release from Plea Agreement" as an unauthorized successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion and denying it for lack of jurisdiction. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (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, 164 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 motion 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 Ewing 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 this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED