United States v. Fiorani

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-6358 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ROSARIO A. FIORANI, JR., Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. James C. Cacheris, Senior District Judge. (CR-98-340) Submitted: September 17, 2004 Decided: November 22, 2004 Before NIEMEYER, LUTTIG, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Rosario A. Fiorani, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. G. David Hackney, Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Rosario A. Fiorani, Jr., appeals a district court’s order construing his “Motion for Reversal of Unconstitutional Conviction on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Prosecutorial and Judicial Misconduct, and Brady Violations” as a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion, and dismissing it as successive, noting that Fiorani has not obtained authorization from this court to file such a motion. An appeal may not be taken from the final order in a § 2255 proceeding unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability.* 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (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, 338 (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 Fiorani has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss this appeal. We * See Reid v. Angelone, 369 F.3d 363, 367-70 (4th Cir. 2004) (holding that order denying relief under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) in a habeas setting is “the final order in a habeas corpus proceeding” subject to the certificate of appealability requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2000)). - 2 - 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 - 3 -