Notice: Fourth Circuit Local Rule 36(c) States That Citation of Unpublished Dispositions is Disfavored Except for Establishing Res Judicata, Estoppel, or the Law of the Case and Requires Service of Copies of Cited Unpublished Dispositions of the Fourth Circuit.charles Gilbert Sheppard, Jr., Petitioner-appellant, v. Ronald J. Angelone, Director of the Virginia Department Ofcorrections, Respondent-appellee, 86 F.3d 1152 (4th Cir. 1996)

Appellant appeals from the district court's order denying his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (1988) petition. We have reviewed the record and the district court's opinion accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and find no reversible error. While some language in the district court's order raised a question as to the standard of review employed by the court, we are confident that, based on the district court's representation and the order itself, the court conducted the required de novo review of the magistrate judge's report. Accordingly, although we grant a certificate of probable cause to appeal, we affirm on the reasoning of the district court. Sheppard v. Angelone, No. CA-94-482-2 (E.D. Va. July 21, 1995). 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.

AFFIRMED