United States v. Graves

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-7251 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ROBERT JAMES GRAVES, Defendant - Appellant. No. 04-7602 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ROBERT JAMES GRAVES, Defendant - Appellant. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Norman K. Moon, District Judge. (CA-03-421-7; CR-99-70049) Submitted: December 20, 2004 Decided: January 10, 2005 Before MICHAEL, TRAXLER, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Robert James Graves, Appellant Pro Se. Donald Ray Wolthuis, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, John Leslie Brownlee, United States Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). - 2 - PER CURIAM: Robert James Graves seeks to appeal the district court’s orders denying relief on his motion filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000), and his motions filed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). The orders are not appealable 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, 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 Graves has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeals. 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 - 3 -