US v. James Baylor, No. 19-7077 (4th Cir. 2021)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 19-7077 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JAMES DERRICK BAYLOR, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. M. Hannah Lauck, District Judge. (3:11-cr-00064-MHL-1; 3:16-cv-00509MHL) Submitted: November 12, 2021 Decided: November 17, 2021 Before NIEMEYER, AGEE, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. James Derrick Baylor, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: James Derrick Baylor seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B). 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). When the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by showing that reasonable jurists could find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong. See Buck v. Davis, 137 S. Ct. 759, 773-74 (2017). When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must show both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable and that the motion states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. Gonzalez v. Thaler, 565 U.S. 134, 140-41 (2012) (citing Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)). We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Baylor 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 To the extent that Baylor seeks compassionate release or other relief under the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194, he may file a motion for such relief in the district court. We express no opinion as to the merits of any such motion. ∗ 2
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