Case Name: Robert Darnell ROBERTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Solomon HEJIRIKA, Sr.; The Attorney General of the State of Maryland, Respondents-Appellees
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2013-09-27
Citations: 540 F. App'x 183
Docket Number: No. 13-6853
Parties: Robert Darnell ROBERTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Solomon HEJIRIKA, Sr.; The Attorney General of the State of Maryland, Respondents-Appellees.
Judges: Before NIEMEYER and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 540
Pages: 183–184

Head Matter:
Robert Darnell ROBERTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Solomon HEJIRIKA, Sr.; The Attorney General of the State of Maryland, Respondents-Appellees.
No. 13-6853.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Sept. 24, 2013.
Decided: Sept. 27, 2013.
Robert Roberts, Appellant Pro Se. Edward John Kelley, Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.
Before NIEMEYER and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Robert Darnell Roberts seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006) petition and has filed motions for appointment of counsel. The district court's order is not ap-pealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2006). 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) (2006). 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 Roberts has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Roberts' motions for appointment of counsel, 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.