Elliott Fields, Jr. v. Gene Johnson

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:10-cv-00839-LMB-IDD Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998549351].. [10-7646]

Elliott Fields, Jr. v. Gene Johnson

Doc. 0

Case: 10-7646

Document: 11

Date Filed: 03/21/2011

Page: 1

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 10-7646

ELLIOTT LEWIS FIELDS, JR., Petitioner - Appellant, v. GENE JOHNSON, Director Virginia Department of Corrections, et al., Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District Judge. (1:10-cv-00839-LMB-IDD)

Submitted:

March 9, 2011

Decided:

March 21, 2011

Before DUNCAN and DAVIS, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Elliott Lewis Fields, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Dockets.Justia.com

Case: 10-7646

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Date Filed: 03/21/2011

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PER CURIAM: Elliott district court's Lewis order Fields, dismissing Jr., as seeks untimely to his appeal 28 the

U.S.C.

§ 2254 (2006) petition.

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 petition states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. 529 U.S. at 484-85. Slack,

We have independently reviewed the record

and conclude that Fields 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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Case: 10-7646

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Date Filed: 03/21/2011

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before

the

court

and

argument

would

not

aid

the

decisional

process. DISMISSED

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