United States v. Matthews , 403 F. App'x 856 ( 2010 )


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  •                             UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 10-6910
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff – Appellee,
    v.
    CLINTON STANLEY MATTHEWS, a/k/a Ian Bernard Matthew, a/k/a
    Craig Jerrod Ingram, a/k/a William Christopher Hinton,
    a/k/a Clinton Mallhew, a/k/a Stanley Matthews, a/k/a
    Bernard Jones, a/k/a Howard L. Eastwood,
    Defendant - Appellant.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
    District of Virginia, at Norfolk.      Henry Coke Morgan, Jr.,
    Senior District Judge. (2:93-cr-00066-HCM-1; 2:10-cv-00228-HCM)
    Submitted:   December 16, 2010            Decided:   December 27, 2010
    Before GREGORY, DUNCAN, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
    Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Clinton Stanley Matthews, Appellant Pro Se. Carol M.            Marx,
    Special   Assistant  United States  Attorney, Newport           News,
    Virginia, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    Clinton Stanley Matthews seeks to appeal the district
    court’s order treating his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion as a
    successive      
    28 U.S.C.A. § 2255
        (West       Supp.       2010)    motion,     and
    dismissing it on that basis.              The order is not appealable unless
    a     circuit     justice        or     judge     issues        a        certificate     of
    appealability.         
    28 U.S.C. § 2253
    (c)(1) (2006); Reid v. Angelone,
    
    369 F.3d 363
    ,    369     (4th     Cir.    2004).             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).       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
    Matthews has not made the requisite showing.                              Accordingly, we
    deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal.
    2
    Additionally, we construe Matthews’ notice of appeal
    and   informal      brief      as     an    application         to   file       a     second    or
    successive § 2255 motion.                  United States v. Winestock, 
    340 F.3d 200
    , 208 (4th Cir. 2003).                  In order to obtain authorization to
    file a successive § 2255 motion, a prisoner must assert claims
    based on either: (1) newly discovered evidence, not previously
    discoverable        by   due    diligence,         that    would        be     sufficient       to
    establish      by    clear      and    convincing          evidence          that,      but    for
    constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder would have found
    the   movant     guilty        of   the      offense;      or     (2)      a    new     rule    of
    constitutional law, previously unavailable, made retroactive by
    the Supreme Court to cases on collateral review.                                     
    28 U.S.C.A. § 2255
    (h) (West Supp. 2010).                   Matthews’ claims do not satisfy
    either of these criteria.                  Therefore, we deny authorization to
    file a successive § 2255 motion.
    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
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 10-6910

Citation Numbers: 403 F. App'x 856

Filed Date: 12/27/2010

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/18/2021