Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nikki Kathleen WILLIAMS, a/k/a Nikki Williams, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-04-04
Citations: 684 F. App'x 282
Docket Number: No. 16-7495
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nikki Kathleen WILLIAMS, a/k/a Nikki Williams, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before TRAXLER and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge,
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 684
Pages: 282–283

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nikki Kathleen WILLIAMS, a/k/a Nikki Williams, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 16-7495
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: March 30, 2017
Decided: April 4, 2017
Nikki Kathleen Williams, Appellant Pro Se. Grayson A. Hoffman, Jeb Thomas Ter-rien, Assistant United States Attorneys, Harrisonburg, Virginia; Craig Jon Jacob-sen, Assistant United States Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before TRAXLER and WYNN, 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Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:
Nikki Kathleen Williams seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on her 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. § 2258(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 Williams has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Williams' motion to appoint 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