UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-7254
GARY LEGETTE,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
RONALD ANGELONE, Director of DOC,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. T. S. Ellis, III, District
Judge. (CA-03-518-AM)
Submitted: November 18, 2004 Decided: November 30, 2004
Before LUTTIG and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
David Bernard Hargett, HARGETT & WATSON, P.L.C., Richmond,
Virginia, for Appellant. Thomas Drummond Bagwell, Assistant
Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Gary Legette 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 in which the detention complained of arises out of
process issued by a state court unless a circuit justice or judge
issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)
(2000). As to claims dismissed by a district court solely on
procedural grounds, a certificate of appealability will not issue
unless the petitioner can demonstrate both “(1) ‘that jurists of
reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid
claim of the denial of a constitutional right’ and (2) ‘that
jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the district
court was correct in its procedural ruling.’” Rose v. Lee, 252
F.3d 676, 684 (4th Cir. 2001) (quoting Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S.
473, 484 (2000)). We have independently reviewed the record and
conclude that Legette has not satisfied the appropriate standard.
See Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003).* Accordingly,
we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. See
28 U.S.C. § 2253(c) (2000). We dispense with oral argument because
the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
*
To the extent the district court failed to consider Legette’s
assertions of cause and prejudice and fundamental miscarriage of
justice to excuse the application of the procedural bar to his
habeas claims, we find such assertions insufficient to overcome the
applicable procedural bar.
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materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
DISMISSED
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