United States v. Raymond Brown ( 2019 )


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  •                                     UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 16-6618
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff - Appellee,
    v.
    RAYMOND ERNEST BROWN, a/k/a Bae Bae, a/k/a Goon, a/k/a Goonie,
    Defendant - Appellant.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
    Newport News. Rebecca Beach Smith, Senior District Judge. (4:09-cr-00081-RBS-FBS-
    15; 4:16-cv-00005-RBS)
    Submitted: October 24, 2019                                 Decided: December 10, 2019
    Before FLOYD and RUSHING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
    Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Raymond Ernest Brown, Appellant Pro Se.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Raymond Ernest Brown 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. See 
    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. See Buck v. Davis, 
    137 S. Ct. 759
    , 773-74 (2017). 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. Gonzalez v. Thaler, 
    565 U.S. 134
    , 140-41 (2012) (citing Slack v.
    McDaniel, 
    529 U.S. 473
    , 484 (2000)).
    We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Brown has not made
    the requisite showing. Accordingly, we remove this appeal from abeyance, deny a
    certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. * We dispense with oral argument
    *
    After the district court entered its final order, the Supreme Court decided United
    States v. Davis, 
    139 S. Ct. 2319
     (2019). In Davis, the Supreme Court held that the residual
    clause of the definition of a crime of violence in 
    18 U.S.C. § 924
    (c)(3)(B) (2012) is
    unconstitutionally vague. Davis, 
    139 S. Ct. at 2336
    . We recently held that Hobbs Act
    robbery, 
    18 U.S.C. § 1951
    (a) (2012), qualifies as a crime of violence under
    § 924(c)(3)(A)’s force clause. See United States v. Mathis, 
    932 F.3d 242
    , 266 (4th Cir.
    2019).
    2
    because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this
    court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
    DISMISSED
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 16-6618

Filed Date: 12/10/2019

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 12/10/2019