United States v. Dias

332 F. App'x 865

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 09-7190

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff – Appellee,

v.

STEVE DIAS, a/k/a Troy, a/k/a O’Neil Guthrie,

Defendant – Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Henry E. Hudson, District Judge. (3:04-cr-00259-HEH-2; 3:09-cv-00334-HEH)

Submitted: September 10, 2009 Decided: September 16, 2009

Before KING, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Steve Dias, Appellant Pro Se. Olivia N. Hawkins, Michael Cornell Wallace, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Stephen David Schiller, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

Steve Dias seeks to appeal the district court’s order

dismissing as successive his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp.

2009) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit

justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability.

28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2006). 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) (2006). A

prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that

reasonable jurists would find that any assessment of the

constitutional claims by the district court is debatable or

wrong and that any dispositive procedural ruling by the district

court is likewise debatable. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S.

322, 336-38 (2003); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000);

Rose v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 683-84 (4th Cir. 2001). We have

independently reviewed the record and conclude that Dias 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 the court and argument would not aid the decisional

process.

DISMISSED