Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Josand FARMER, a/k/a Johan Farmer, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-10-19
Citations: 669 F. App'x 674
Docket Number: No. 16-6813
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Josand FARMER, a/k/a Johan Farmer, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before KING, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 669
Pages: 674–675

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Josand FARMER, a/k/a Johan Farmer, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 16-6813
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: October 7, 2016
Decided: October 19, 2016
Josand Farmer, Appellant Pro Se. Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, Seth Morgan Wood, Office of the United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Before KING, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Josand Farmer seeks to appeal from the district court's order denying his motion to correct error in the presentence report and judgment, We conclude that Farmer's motion was in substance a successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion.
The district court's order is not appeal-able unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 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 Farmer has not made the requisite showing. The district court lacked jurisdiction to deny § 2255 relief on the merits because Farmer's motion to correct challenged the validity of his sentence and should have been construed as a successive § 2255 motion. See Gonzalez v. Crosby, 545 U.S. 524, 531-32, 125 S.Ct. 2641, 162 L.Ed.2d 480 (2005); United States v. Winestock, 340 F.3d 200, 207 (4th Cir. 2003). In the absence of pre-filing authorization from this court, the district court lacked jurisdiction to hear a successive § 2255 motion. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3) (2012).
Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny Farmer's motion to compel, 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