Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Herbert Samuel CHRISTENSEN, Jr., Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2003-06-26
Citations: 69 F. App'x 159
Docket Number: No. 03-6645
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Herbert Samuel CHRISTENSEN, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before NIEMEYER, KING and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 69
Pages: 159–160

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Herbert Samuel CHRISTENSEN, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.
No. 03-6645.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted June 19, 2003.
Decided June 26, 2003.
Herbert Samuel Christensen, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Alfred William Walker Bethea, Assistant United States Attorney, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Before NIEMEYER, KING and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Herbert Samuel Christensen, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion. An appeal may not be taken to this court from the final order in a proceeding under § 2255 unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000). A certificate of appealability will not issue for claims addressed by a district court on the merits absent "a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2000); see Miller-El v. Cock rell, 537 U.S. 322, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003). As to claims dismissed by a district court solely on procedural grounds, a certificate of appealability will not issue unless the movant can demonstrate both "(1) 'that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right' and (2) 'that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling.'" Rose v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 684 (4th Cir.) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000)), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 941, 122 S.Ct. 318, 151 L.Ed.2d 237 (2001). We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Christensen has not satisfied either standard. 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 the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED.