Case Name: Damien O. JOHNSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. WARDEN, LIVESAY CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2018-03-13
Citations: 714 F. App'x 281
Docket Number: No. 17-7315
Parties: Damien O. JOHNSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. WARDEN, LIVESAY CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before MOTZ and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 714
Pages: 281–282

Head Matter:
Damien O. JOHNSON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. WARDEN, LIVESAY CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 17-7315
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: February 20, 2018
Decided: March 13, 2018
Damien O. Johnson, Appellant Pro Se. Alphonso Simon, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Donald John Zelenka, Deputy Attorney General, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF SOUTH CAROLINA, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Before MOTZ and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Damien O. Johnson seeks to appeal the district court's orders accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge, dismissing 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 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 Johnson 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