Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Chester Eugene DOWNING, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-02-06
Citations: 554 F. App'x 142
Docket Number: No. 13-7555
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Chester Eugene DOWNING, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before KING, SHEDD, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 554
Pages: 142–142

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Chester Eugene DOWNING, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 13-7555.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: Jan. 27, 2014.
Decided: Feb. 6, 2014.
Chester Eugene Downing, Appellant Pro Se. Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, Tobin Webb La-than, Seth Morgan Wood, Office of the United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Before KING, SHEDD, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Chester Eugene Downing seeks to appeal the district court's orders construing his Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(4) motions as motions under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) and dismissing them as successive, and denying his motion to reconsider. The orders are not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2258(c)(1)(B) (2012). A certifícate 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 Downing 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.