UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-7162
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
ERIC ARTHUR WALTON,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Wheeling. Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.,
District Judge. (CR-96-41, CA-00-191-5)
Submitted: October 24, 2002 Decided: November 22, 2002
Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Eric Arthur Walton, Appellant Pro Se. Paul Thomas Camilletti,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Eric Arthur Walton seeks to appeal the district court’s orders
denying his motion filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000), and denying
a certificate of appealability.* We have reviewed the record, the
district court’s opinion accepting the recommendation of the
magistrate judge to deny § 2255 relief, and the court’s order
denying a certificate of appealability. We conclude for the reasons
stated by the district court that Walton has not made a substantial
showing of the denial of a constitutional right. See United States
v. Walton, Nos. CR-96-41; CA-00-191-5 (N.D.W. Va. June 28, 2002;
July 24, 2002). Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability
and dismiss the appeal. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c) (2000). We grant
Walton’s motion for judicial notice and 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
*
Although Walton did not file a notice of appeal from the
district court’s order denying a certificate of appealability, we
have jurisdiction to review the order because his timely filed
informal brief is the functional equivalent of a notice of appeal.
Smith v. Barry, 502 U.S. 244, 245 (1992).
2