US v. John Elli

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UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed denying certificate of appealability. Originating case number: 1:12-cr-00053-JPJ-RSB-1,1:15-cv-80803-JPJ-RSB. Copies to all parties and the district court. [1000271991]. [16-6219]

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Appeal: 16-6219 Doc: 19 Filed: 04/06/2018 Pg: 1 of 2 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 16-6219 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOHN MATTHEW ELLIS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Abingdon. James P. Jones, District Judge. (1:12-cr-00053-JPJ-RSB-1; 1:15-cv-80803JPJ-RSB) Submitted: March 26, 2018 Decided: April 6, 2018 Before WYNN and FLOYD, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Christine Madeleine Lee, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellant. Jennifer R. Bockhorst, Assistant United States Attorney, Roy Franklin Evans, Jr., Abingdon, Virginia, Charlene Rene Day, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. Appeal: 16-6219 Doc: 19 Filed: 04/06/2018 Pg: 2 of 2 PER CURIAM: John Matthew Ellis seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2012). 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 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. 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 denial of a constitutional right. Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85. We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Ellis 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 before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 2

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