United States v. Rice

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-6577 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus DONALD TERRELL RICE, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg. Margaret B. Seymour, District Judge. (CR-99-902; CA-01-1913-7-24) Submitted: June 28, 2004 Decided: July 16, 2004 Before LUTTIG, MOTZ, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Donald Terrell Rice, Appellant Pro Se. Elizabeth Jean Howard, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Donald Terrell Rice seeks a certificate of appealability to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his motion filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) (2000). A prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that his constitutional claims are debatable and that any dispositive procedural rulings by the district court are also debatable or wrong. See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000); Rose v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 683 (4th Cir. 2001). We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Rice has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Rice’s motion for 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 -