Case Name: Quentin J. HOLT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Bryan STIRLING, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections; Leroy Cartledge, McCormick Correctional Institution, Respondents-Appellees
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-06-23
Citations: 692 F. App'x 145
Docket Number: No. 17-6427
Parties: Quentin J. HOLT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Bryan STIRLING, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections; Leroy Cartledge, McCormick Correctional Institution, Respondents-Appellees.
Judges: Before SHEDD, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 692
Pages: 145–146

Head Matter:
Quentin J. HOLT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Bryan STIRLING, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections; Leroy Cartledge, McCormick Correctional Institution, Respondents-Appellees.
No. 17-6427
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: June 20, 2017
Decided: June 23, 2017
Elizabeth Anne Franklin-Best, BLUME, NORRIS & FRANKLIN-BEST, LLC, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. James Anthony Mabry, Assistant Attorney General, Donald John Zelenka, Deputy Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Before SHEDD, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Quentin J. Holt seeks to appeal the district court's order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and 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 appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(e)(1)(A) (2012). A certificate of ap-pealability 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 Holt 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