490 F. App'x 583
4th Cir.
2012

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. LUIS HERNANDEZ-ESPINOZA, a/k/a Raphael Lopez, a/k/a Rafael Lopez, Defendant - Appellant.

No. 12-6099

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

December 4, 2012

SHEDD, KEENAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

UNPUBLISHED; Submitted: November 30, 2012; Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. James C. Dever III, Chief District Judge. (7:09-cr-00112-D-1; 7:11-cv-00125-D)

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Luis Hernandez-Espinoza, Appellant Pro Se. William Ellis Boyle, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Luis Hernandez-Espinoza seeks to appeal the district court‘s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 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) (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). 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 Hernandez-Espinoza 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