UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 97-6186
SOLOMON SMITH, JR.,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
RONALD J. ANGELONE, Director of the Virginia
Department of Corrections,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Norfolk. Henry C. Morgan, Jr., District
Judge. (CA-96-218-2)
Submitted: May 1, 1997 Decided: May 8, 1997
Before WIDENER and MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judges, and PHILLIPS, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Solomon Smith, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Margaret Ann Bullock Walker,
Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Appellant appeals the district court's order denying relief
on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 & Supp.
1997). We have reviewed the record and the district court's opinion
accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and find no
reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealabil-
ity and dismiss the appeal.
We note that the claims that Appellant attempted to add in his
response in opposition to Appellee's motion to dismiss, his objec-
tions to the magistrate judge's report and recommendation, and his
informal brief were not presented to the state court. Accordingly
the claims were not exhausted, and dismissal was proper on that
ground. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b). As to Appellant's sufficiency of
the evidence claim, we affirm on the reasoning of the district
court. Smith v. Angelone, No. CA-96-218-2 (E.D. Va., Jan. 15,
1997).
Because the appeal presents no substantial or complex issues,
we deny Appellant's motion to authorize preparation of a transcript
at government expense and his motion for appointment of counsel. 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
2