UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 97-7812
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
JAMES RAY HALL,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of North Carolina, at Raleigh. James C. Fox, District Judge.
(CR-92-78-F, CA-97-170-1F-5)
Submitted: July 7, 1998 Decided: August 4, 1998
Before WIDENER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and HALL, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James Ray Hall, Appellant Pro Se. Christine Witcover Dean, Assis-
tant United States Attorney, Robert Edward Skiver, Assistant United
States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Appellant seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying
his motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998).
We have reviewed the record and the district court’s opinion and
find no reversible error. To the extent that Hall challenges his
sentence, these claims have been waived by his failure to raise
them on direct appeal. See Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465, 477 n.10
(1976); United States v. Emanuel, 869 F.2d 795, 796 (4th Cir.
1989). To the extent that Hall asserts ineffective assistance of
counsel based on the alleged sentencing errors, Hall fails to show
that counsel’s performance was objectively unreasonable or that he
was prejudiced thereby. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
687-95 (1984).
Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dis-
miss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court. See United
States v. Hall, Nos. CR-92-78-F; CA-97-170-1F-5 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 18,
1997). 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