Case Name: Ronald Michael KAPPES, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Robert HINES, Superintendent of Wayne Correctional, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-05-13
Citations: 571 F. App'x 226
Docket Number: No. 13-8046
Parties: Ronald Michael KAPPES, Petitioner—Appellant, v. Robert HINES, Superintendent of Wayne Correctional, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 571
Pages: 226–227

Head Matter:
Ronald Michael KAPPES, Petitioner—Appellant, v. Robert HINES, Superintendent of Wayne Correctional, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 13-8046.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: April 21, 2014.
Decided: May 13, 2014.
Ronald Michael Kappes, Appellant Pro Se. Clarence Joe DelForge, III, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appel-lee.
Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Ronald Michael Kappes seeks to appeal the district court's orders denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition and denying his motion to reconsider. The orders are 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 Kappes has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Kappes' motion for a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in for-ma 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.