Case Name: Dominique Jerome HOBBS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-04-26
Citations: 647 F. App'x 200
Docket Number: No. 15-7876
Parties: Dominique Jerome HOBBS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before MOTZ, GREGORY, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 647
Pages: 200–200

Head Matter:
Dominique Jerome HOBBS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 15-7876.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: April 8, 2016.
Decided: April 26, 2016.
Dominique Jerome Hobbs, Appellant Pro Se.
Before MOTZ, GREGORY, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Dominique Jerome Hobbs seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certifícate of ap-pealability. See 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 Hobbs has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis and 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.