Clifford Thompson v. Jon Ozmint

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Motion disposition in opinion--denying Motion for transcript at government expense [998864494-2] Originating case number: 3:08-cv-02794-HMH Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998970928]. Mailed to: Clifford Thompson. [12-6881]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-6881

CLIFFORD THOMPSON,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
JON OZMINT, SC Department of Corrections; WARDEN OF BROAD
RIVER CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION,
Respondents - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Columbia.
Henry M. Herlong, Jr., Senior
District Judge. (3:08-cv-02794-HMH)

Submitted:

September 25, 2012

Before KING and
Circuit Judge.

AGEE,

Circuit

Decided:

Judges,

and

October 31, 2012

HAMILTON,

Senior

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Clifford Thompson, Appellant Pro Se.
Donald John Zelenka,
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for
Appellees.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Clifford Thompson seeks to appeal the district court’s
orders

accepting

the

recommendation

of

the

magistrate

judge,

denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006) petition, and
denying

his

appealable

motion
unless

for
a

reconsideration.
circuit

certificate of appealability.
A

certificate

of

justice

The
or

orders
judge

are

issues

not
a

28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2006).

appealability

will

not

issue

absent

“a

substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.”
28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2006).
relief

on

the

demonstrating
district

merits,
that

court’s

debatable

or

a

prisoner

reasonable

assessment

wrong.

When the district court denies

Slack

satisfies

jurists

this

would

of

the

v.

McDaniel,

standard

find

constitutional
529

U.S.

by

that

the

claims

is

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 Thompson has not made the requisite showing.

Accordingly,

we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal.
We deny Thompson’s motion for transcripts, and we dispense with
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oral

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argument

adequately

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because

presented

in

the
the

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facts

and

materials

legal
before

contentions
the

court

are
and

argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED

3