Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dennis Lamar BRUTON, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-12-20
Citations: 671 F. App'x 224
Docket Number: No. 16-7260
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dennis Lamar BRUTON, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 671
Pages: 224–225

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dennis Lamar BRUTON, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 16-7260
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: December 15, 2016
Decided: December 20, 2016
Dennis Lamar Bruton, Appellant Pro Se. Thomas Michael Kent, Office of the United States Attorney, Amy Elizabeth Ray, Assistant United States Attorney Asheville, North Carolina; Jill Westmore-land Rose, United States Attorney, Thomas A. O’Malley, Office of the United States Attorney,. Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Dennis Lamar Bruton seeks to appeal the district court's order denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion for reconsideration of the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of ap-pealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (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 motion 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 Bruton 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