Dominic Derricotte v. Joseph McFadden , 588 F. App'x 261 ( 2014 )


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  •                                UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 14-7218
    DOMINIC M. DERRICOTTE,
    Petitioner – Appellant,
    v.
    JOSEPH MCFADDEN, Warden of Lieber Correctional Institution,
    Respondent - Appellee.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
    South Carolina, at Anderson.    Terry L. Wooten, Chief District
    Judge. (8:13-cv-02202-TLW)
    Submitted:   December 16, 2014               Decided:   December 19, 2014
    Before DUNCAN    and   DIAZ,   Circuit   Judges,    and   DAVIS,   Senior
    Circuit Judge.
    Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Dominic M. Derricotte, Appellant Pro Se. Melody Jane Brown,
    Assistant  Attorney  General,  Donald John  Zelenka, Senior
    Assistant Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for
    Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Dominic     M.    Derricotte        seeks       to     appeal         the    district
    court’s    order     accepting       the     recommendation              of    the    magistrate
    judge     and    denying       relief   on     his       
    28 U.S.C. § 2254
         (2012)
    petition.        The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice
    or    judge     issues    a    certificate        of   appealability.                 
    28 U.S.C. § 2253
    (c)(1)(A) (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 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     Derricotte           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
    2
    before   this   court   and   argument   would   not   aid   the   decisional
    process.
    DISMISSED
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-7218

Citation Numbers: 588 F. App'x 261

Judges: Duncan, Diaz, Davis

Filed Date: 12/19/2014

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/6/2024