UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 00-6989
ROBERT DALE STRICKLER,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
RONALD J. ANGELONE, Director of the Virginia
Department of Corrections,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Norfolk. Rebecca B. Smith, District Judge.
(CA-98-1200-2)
Submitted: November 7, 2000 Decided: December 4, 2000
Before LUTTIG, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Robert Dale Strickler, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Bain Smith, As-
sistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Robert Dale Strickler appeals the denial of his Fed. R. Civ.
P. 60(b) motion, which sought relief from a judgment denying relief
on his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 & Supp. 2000) petition. Be-
cause Strickler’s Rule 60(b) motion was tantamount to a successive
§ 2254 application, we conclude the district court lacked juris-
diction to consider it absent authorization from this Court. See
28 U.S.C.A. § 2244(b) (West Supp. 2000); United States v. Rich, 141
F.3d 550, 551 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1011 (1999).
Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss
Strickler’s appeal of the denial of the motion. We dispense with
oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequate-
ly presented in the materials before the court and argument would
not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
2