Case Name: Frankie M. MILLER, Jr., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellee
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-11-13
Citations: 701 F. App'x 276
Docket Number: No. 17-6765
Parties: Frankie M. MILLER, Jr., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellee.
Judges: Before DUNCAN, WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 701
Pages: 276–277

Head Matter:
Frankie M. MILLER, Jr., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Harold W. CLARKE, Director of the Virginia Department of Corrections, Respondent-Appellee.
No. 17-6765
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
Submitted: October 23, 2017
Decided: November 13, 2017
Frankie M. Miller, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Joseph Christian Obenshain, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Before DUNCAN, WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Frankie M. Miller, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court's order adopting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and dismissing as time-barred and procedurally defaulted his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2012). A certificate of ap-pealability 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 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 Miller has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Miller's motion for a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in for-ma pauperis, 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