United States v. Lewis

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 05-6398 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ELAN CHRISTOPHER LEWIS, a/k/a Jamal Xavier Harris, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Richard L. Williams, Senior District Judge. (CR-94-94; CA-05-131-3) Submitted: July 14, 2005 Decided: July 26, 2005 Before WILKINSON, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Elan Christopher Lewis, Appellant Pro Se. David T. Maguire, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Elan Christopher Lewis, a federal prisoner, seeks to appeal the district court’s orders: (1) denying relief on his motion for reduction of sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C.A. § 3582(c)(2) (West 2000 & Supp. 2005), which the district court construed as a successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion; and (2) denying his motion to alter or amend judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e). 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 for claims addressed by a district court 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 both 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 Lewis 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 - 2 - presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED - 3 -