Robert Foster v. Cecilia Reynold

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Motion disposition in opinion--denying Motion for other relief [999716857-2] Originating case number: 9:14-cv-03853-TMC Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999787706]. Mailed to: Foster. [15-7689]

Appeal: 15-7689

Doc: 10

Filed: 04/04/2016

Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-7689

ROBERT LEE FOSTER,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
CECILIA REYNOLDS, Warden,
Respondent - Appellee,
and
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
Respondent.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Beaufort.
Timothy M. Cain, District Judge.
(9:14-cv-03853-TMC)

Submitted:

March 10, 2016

Decided:

April 4, 2016

Before WILKINSON, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Robert Lee Foster, Appellant Pro Se.
Donald John Zelenka,
Senior Assistant Attorney General, Melody Jane Brown, Assistant
Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Appeal: 15-7689

Doc: 10

Filed: 04/04/2016

Pg: 2 of 3

PER CURIAM:
Robert

Lee

Foster

seeks

to

appeal

the

district

court’s

order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and
dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition.
not

appealable

certificate
(2012).

of

unless

a

circuit

appealability.

justice

See

28

or

The order is

judge

U.S.C.

issues

a

§ 2253(c)(1)(A)

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) (2012).
When
prisoner

the

district

court

satisfies

this

jurists

would

reasonable

denies

relief

standard
find

by

that

on

the

merits,

demonstrating

the

district

a

that

court’s

assessment of the constitutional claims is debatable or wrong.
Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000); see Miller-El v.
Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 (2003).
denies

relief

demonstrate

both

on

procedural

that

the

When the district court

grounds,

dispositive

the

prisoner

procedural

ruling

must
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
Foster has not made the requisite showing.

Accordingly, we deny

a certificate of appealability, deny his pending motion, and
dismiss the appeal.
facts

and

legal

We dispense with oral argument because the

contentions

are
2

adequately

presented

in

the

Appeal: 15-7689

Doc: 10

materials

before

Filed: 04/04/2016

this

court

Pg: 3 of 3

and

argument

would

not

aid

the

decisional process.
DISMISSED

3