Court Opinion

ID: 4261258
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2018-04-04 19:00:20.666148+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:29:40.217796
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                           FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                       No. 17-7536

FERRIS G. SINGLEY,

                    Petitioner - Appellant,

             v.

WARDEN MICHAEL STEPHAN,

                    Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
Florence. Timothy M. Cain, District Judge. (4:17-cv-01403-TMC)

Submitted: March 19, 2018                                         Decided: April 4, 2018

Before AGEE, KEENAN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Ferris G. Singley, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:

       Ferris G. Singley seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the

recommendation of the magistrate judge and dismissing 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 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 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 (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.

       We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Singley 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

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