Thompson v. Attorney General of Virginia

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-6324 RANDOLPH THOMPSON, Petitioner - Appellant, versus ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Marvin J. Garbis, District Judge. (CA-01- 3577-MJG) Submitted: May 19, 2003 Decided: June 18, 2003 Before LUTTIG, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Randolph Thompson, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Randolph Thompson, a state prisoner, seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000). An appeal may not be taken from the final order in a habeas corpus proceeding unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000). Habeas corpus relief may be granted only if the state court’s decision is contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law as determined by the Supreme Court, or the state court’s decision was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). This Court may only grant a certificate of appealability if the appellant makes a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). The relevant inquiry is whether “‘reasonable jurists would find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong.’” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 123 S. Ct. 1029, 1040 (2003) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)). We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Thompson 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 the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 2