Court Opinion

ID: 4167550
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2017-05-10 19:03:53.923244+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:24:54.966296
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                           FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                      No. 16-7754

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                    Plaintiff - Appellee,

             v.

TORRY VON ZENON,

                    Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Richmond. Henry E. Hudson, District Judge. (3:12-cr-00047-HEH-RCY-5; 3:15-cv-
00592-HEH)

Submitted: April 24, 2017                                         Decided: May 10, 2017

Before WILKINSON, TRAXLER, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Torry Von Zenon, Appellant Pro Se. Dana James Boente, United States Attorney,
Alexandria, Virginia; Peter Sinclair Duffey, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond,
Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

       Torry Von Zenon seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 28

U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion. The order is not appealable 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 (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

motion 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 Zenon 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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