Case Name: Calvin PERRY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-02-11
Citations: 554 F. App'x 213
Docket Number: No. 13-7755
Parties: Calvin PERRY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before NIEMEYER, SHEDD, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 554
Pages: 213–214

Head Matter:
Calvin PERRY, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 13-7755.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Feb. 3, 2014.
Decided: Feb. 11, 2014.
Calvin Perry, Appellant Pro Se. Lara Kate Jacobs Todd, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before NIEMEYER, SHEDD, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Calvin Perry seeks to appeal the district court's order dismissing his successive 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 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 Perry 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.