US v. Kenneth Jones, Jr.

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 7:09-cr-00027-jct-2,7:10-cv-80250-jct-mfu Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998492925] [10-7406]

US v. Kenneth Jones, Jr.

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Case: 10-7406 Document: 5

Date Filed: 12/29/2010

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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 10-7406 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. KENNETH N. JONES, JR., Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. James C. Turk, Senior District Judge. (7:09-cr-00027-jct-2; 7:10-cv-80250-jct-mfu) Submitted: December 16, 2010 Decided: December 29, 2010

Before GREGORY, DUNCAN, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Kenneth N. Jones, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Ronald Andrew Bassford, Assistant United States Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM: Kenneth Jones, Jr., seeks to appeal the district

court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2010) 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). 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. 484 (2000); see Miller-El v. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 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. 529 U.S. at 484-85. and conclude that Slack,

We have independently reviewed the record Jones 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

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before

the

court

and

argument

would

not

aid

the

decisional

process. DISMISSED

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