Goodman v. Smith ( 2010 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-8194
WILLIAM JASPER GOODMAN, JR.,
Petitioner – Appellant,
v.
LEWIS SMITH, Superintendent,
Respondent – Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Graham C. Mullen,
Senior District Judge. (3:09-cv-00483-GCM)
Submitted: March 5, 2010 Decided: March 18, 2010
Before MICHAEL, KING, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
William Jasper Goodman, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
William Jasper Goodman, Jr. seeks to appeal the
district court’s order dismissing as untimely his 28 U.S.C.
§ 2254 (2006) petition. The order is not appealable unless a
circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability.
28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2006). 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) (2006). A
prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that
reasonable jurists would find that any assessment of the
constitutional claims by the district court is debatable or
wrong and that any dispositive procedural ruling by the district
court is likewise debatable. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S.
322, 336-38 (2003); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000);
Rose v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 683-84 (4th Cir. 2001). We have
independently reviewed the record and conclude that Goodman has
not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny his
motions for a certificate of appealability and for appointment
of counsel, and we dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before the court and argument would
not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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