US v. Desmon Barnhill

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 7:10-cr-00075-D-1,7:14-cv-00024-D Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999530883]. Mailed to: Desmon Barnhill. [14-7708]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-7708

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DESMON TERRILL BARNHILL, a/k/a T.B., a/k/a Terry,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. James C. Dever, III,
Chief District Judge. (7:10-cr-00075-D-1; 7:14-cv-00024-D)

Submitted:

February 12, 2015

Decided:

February 19, 2015

Before MOTZ, WYNN, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Desmon Terrill Barnhill, Appellant Pro Se. Shailika S. Kotiya,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Stephen Aubrey West,
Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Desmon Terrill Barnhill seeks to appeal the district
court’s orders dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion and
denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) motion to alter or amend
judgment.
justice

The
or

28 U.S.C.

orders

judge

are

issues

not
a

§ 2253(c)(1)(B)

appealable

certificate

(2012).

unless
of

A

a

circuit

appealability.
certificate

of

appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of
the denial of a constitutional right.”

28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2).

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

constitutional claims is debatable or wrong.

of

the

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

right.

denial

of

a

constitutional

Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85.
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude

that Barnhill has not made the requisite showing.

Accordingly,

we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal.
We

dispense

with

oral

argument

2

because

the

facts

and

legal

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contentions

are

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adequately

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presented

in

the

materials

before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED

3