UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-7427
VENSON LEON COWARD, a/k/a Lord Versatile,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
RONALD J. ANGELONE, Director,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond. Richard L. Williams, Senior
District Judge. (CA-02-281-3)
Submitted: January 30, 2003 Decided: February 5, 2003
Before WIDENER, NIEMEYER, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Venson Leon Coward, Appellant Pro Se. Michael Thomas Judge, OFFICE
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Venson Leon Coward, a Virginia prisoner, seeks to appeal the
district court’s order denying relief on his petition filed under
28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000), challenging his 1986 convictions for
murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. A
petitioner may not appeal from the denial of relief on his § 2254
petition unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of
appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000). Coward’s petition
was filed in April 2002, several years after the statutory
limitations period expired for convictions that became final prior
to the enactment of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty
Act of 1996. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d) (2000); Brown v. Angelone, 150
F.3d 370, 374-76 (4th Cir. 1998). Because the petition was not
timely filed, Coward cannot meet the criteria for a certificate of
appealability. 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