US v. Miracle Smith

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case numbers: 3:08-cr-00283-REP-RCY-2, 3:17-cv-00403-REP. Copies to all parties and the district court. [1000145644]. Mailed to: Appellant. [17-6790]

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Appeal: 17-6790 Doc: 5 Filed: 08/29/2017 Pg: 1 of 2 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 17-6790 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. MIRACLE SMITH, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Robert E. Payne, Senior District Judge. (3:08-cr-00283-REP-RCY-2; 3:17cv-00403-REP) Submitted: August 24, 2017 Decided: August 29, 2017 Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and SHEDD and DIAZ, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Miracle Smith, Appellant Pro Se. Stephen Wiley Miller, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. Appeal: 17-6790 Doc: 5 Filed: 08/29/2017 Pg: 2 of 2 PER CURIAM: Miracle Smith seeks to appeal the district court’s order recharacterizing her 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) (2012) motion as a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion and denying relief on her § 2255 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 Smith 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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