Michael Fuller v. Chadwick Dotson ( 2024 )

USCA4 Appeal: 24-6254 Doc: 9 Filed: 08/02/2024 Pg: 1 of 2
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 24-6254
MICHAEL ROY FULLER,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
CHADWICK DOTSON, Director,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Richmond. M. Hannah Lauck, District Judge. (3:23-cv-00256-MHL)
Submitted: July 30, 2024 Decided: August 2, 2024
Before NIEMEYER, AGEE, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
David Bernard Hargett, HARGETT LAW, PLC, Glen Allen, Virginia, for Appellant.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 24-6254 Doc: 9 Filed: 08/02/2024 Pg: 2 of 2
PER CURIAM:
Michael Roy Fuller seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his
28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge
issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A). 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). When, as here, the district court denies relief on the merits,
a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists could find the
district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong. See Buck v.
Davis, 580 U.S. 100, 115-17 (2017).
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Fuller 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
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