UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-7233
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
SONIA LORRANE HARRIS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Durham. William L. Osteen, District
Judge. (CR-00-234, CR-00-235, CR-00-236, CA-01-800-1)
Submitted: November 7, 2002 Decided: November 14, 2002
Before WILKINS and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Sonia Lorrane Harris, Appellant Pro Se. Paul Alexander Weinman,
Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Carolina, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM
Sonia L. Harris seeks to appeal the district court’s order
accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying
relief on her motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence
filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000). An appeal may not be taken in
a proceeding under § 2255 unless a circuit justice or judge issues
a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000).
When, as here, a district court dismisses a § 2255 motion on the
merits, a certificate of appealability will not issue unless the
appellant can make “a substantial showing of the denial of a
constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2000). We have
reviewed the record and conclude for the reasons stated by the
district court that Harris has not made the requisite showing. See
United States v. Harris, Nos. CR-00-234; CR-00-235; CR-00-236; CA-
01-800-1 (M.D.N.C. filed May 2, 2002; entered May 3, 2002).
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 the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
2