592 F. App'x 211
4th Cir.
2015

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. LEON PRATER, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 14-7347.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Submitted: Jan. 30, 2015. Decided: Feb. 5, 2015.

595 F. App‘x 211

Before MOTZ, GREGORY, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Leon Prater, Appellant Pro Se.

John Castle Parr, Assistant United States Attorney, Wheeling, West Virginia, for Appellee.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Leon Prater appeals the district court‘s order denying his request for approval to pursue a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (2012). In denying Prater‘s request, the court concluded that Prater was not eligible for a sentence reduction under Amendment 750 because he was sentenced as a career offender. Prater‘s sentence, however, was not based on his status as a career offender but was the sentence agreed to by the parties in the binding plea agreement. See Fed. R.Crim.P. 11(c)(1)(C). Nevertheless, we conclude that Prater was not entitled to a sentence reduction and we therefore affirm the court‘s judgment.

Prater also appeals the district court‘s order denying his motion for reconsideration. Although we conclude that the court was without authority to consider the motion on the merits, United States v. Goodwyn, 596 F.3d 233, 236 (4th Cir.2010), we affirm the denial of the motion.

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.

AFFIRMED.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Lee Bentley FARKAS, Defendant–Appellant.

No. 14-7390.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Submitted: Jan. 30, 2015. Decided: Feb. 5, 2015.

595 F. App‘x 211

Before MOTZ and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Erica Tamar Dubno, Herald Price Fahringer, Fahringer & Dubno, New York, New York, for Appellant. Paul Nathanson, Office of the United States Attorney, Karen Ledbetter Taylor, Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.

Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Lee Bentley Farkas 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. 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. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (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, 120 S.Ct. 1595.

We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Farkas 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.

Robert Eugene EASON, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Joseph B. HALL, Respondent-Appellee, and State of North Carolina, Respondent. Robert Eugene Eason, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Joseph B. Hall, Respondent-Appellee, and State of North Carolina, Respondent.

Nos. 14-7359, 14-7393.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Submitted: Jan. 27, 2015. Decided: Feb. 6, 2015.

595 F. App‘x 212

Before KEENAN, FLOYD, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Robert Eugene Eason, Appellant Pro Se. Clarence Joe DelForge, III, North Carolina Department of Justice, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

No. 14-7359 dismissed; No. 14-7393 affirmed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

In these consolidated appeals, Robert Eugene Eason seeks to appeal the district