Keith Godwin v. Harold Clarke, No. 12-7265 (4th Cir. 2012)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-7265 KEITH EARL GODWIN, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HAROLD W. CLARKE, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Raymond A. Jackson, District Judge. (2:12-cv-00348-RAJ-DEM) Submitted: December 10, 2012 Decided: December 12, 2012 Before GREGORY, SHEDD, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Keith Earl Godwin, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Keith Earl Godwin seeks to appeal the district court s order dismissing petition. or judge as successive 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006) The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice issues a certificate § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2006). issue his absent a appealability. 28 U.S.C. A certificate of appealability will not substantial constitutional right. of showing of the denial 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2006). of a 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 Cockrell, (2000); (2003). see Miller-El v. 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable, and that the petition 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 the district Nevertheless, court s because the procedural claims ruling raised in is debatable. Godwin s § 2254 petition do not state a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right, Godwin has not made the showing required by Slack. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, 2 deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and dismiss the appeal. We dispense contentions with are oral argument adequately because presented in the facts and the materials legal before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 3
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