Case Name: Markham Andrew BURKE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director, DOC, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-08-17
Citations: 668 F. App'x 32
Docket Number: No. 16-6256
Parties: Markham Andrew BURKE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director, DOC, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before WILKINSON, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 668
Pages: 32–33

Head Matter:
Markham Andrew BURKE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold CLARKE, Director, DOC, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 16-6256
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: August 3, 2016
Decided: August 17, 2016
Markham Andrew Burke, Appellant Pro Se. John Watkins Blanton, Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before WILKINSON, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Markham Andrew Burke 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 certificate 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 Burke 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