UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-6584
EARL B. THOMAS, III,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
RONALD ANGELONE, Director, Virginia Department
of Corrections,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. Claude M. Hilton, Chief District
Judge. (CA-98-1391-AM)
Submitted: September 9, 1999 Decided: September 14, 1999
Before ERVIN, WILKINS, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Earl B. Thomas, III, Appellant Pro Se. 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:
Earl B. Thomas, III, seeks to appeal the district court’s
order denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254
(West 1994 & Supp. 1999). We have reviewed the record and the dis-
trict court’s opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly,
we deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, deny a certificate of
appealability, and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the dis-
trict court. See Thomas v. Angelone, No. CA-98-1391-AM (E.D. Va.
Mar. 29, 1999).* 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
*
Although the district court’s order is marked as “filed” on
March 25, 1999, the district court’s records show that it was
entered on the docket sheet on March 29, 1999. Pursuant to the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is the date that the order was
entered on the docket sheet that we take as the effective date of
the district court’s decision. See Wilson v. Murray, 806 F.2d
1232, 1234-35 (4th Cir. 1986).
2