Flowers v. Lee

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-6968
JAMES ELVE FLOWERS, JR.,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
RANDALL LEE,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Durham. William L. Osteen, District
Judge. (CA-03-857-1)
Submitted: November 15, 2004 Decided: November 30, 2004
Before MOTZ and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James Elve Flowers, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Clarence Joe DelForge,
III, NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Raleigh, North Carolina,
for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
James Elve Flowers, Jr., a state prisoner, seeks to
appeal the district court’s order adopting the magistrate judge’s
report and recommendation, rejecting Flowers’s claims on their
merits, and dismissing his petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(2000). The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or
judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. §
2253(c)(1) (2000). 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) (2000). A prisoner satisfies this
standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find the
district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable
or wrong. See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 338 (2003);
Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). We have independently
reviewed the record and conclude that Flowers has not made the
requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny his motion for 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 the court and argument
would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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