UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-7805
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
GRADY LASSITER, JR.,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Henry Coke Morgan, Jr., District
Judge. (CR-01-154; CA-03-443-2)
Submitted: July 12, 2004 Decided: July 27, 2004
Before WIDENER, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Grady Lassiter, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Grady Lassiter, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court’s
order dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion. Lassiter
cannot appeal this order unless a circuit judge or justice issues
a certificate of appealability, and 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 habeas
appellant meets 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,
326 (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 Lassiter 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 -