United States v. Goodson

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-7291 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus RODNEY GOODSON, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Huntington. Robert J. Staker, Senior District Judge. (CR-91-189; CA-98-993-3) Submitted: August 18, 2004 Decided: September 21, 2004 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and KING, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Rodney Goodson, Appellant Pro Se. Michael Lee Keller, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Rodney Goodson, a federal prisoner, seeks to appeal the district court’s orders denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion concerning the court’s previous denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion,* denying his motion for reconsideration, and denying a certificate of appealability. The orders are not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000); Reid v. Angelone, 369 F.3d 363, 370 (4th Cir. 2004). 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 Goodson 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 * The district court accepted the findings and recommendation of a magistrate judge, and Goodson had not filed any objections to the magistrate judge’s findings and recommendation. - 2 - materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED - 3 -