Aaron Doxie, III v. Jeffrey Dillman

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 16-6983 AARON DOXIE, III, a/k/a Aharon Azaryah Nearyah Hakahan, Petitioner - Appellant, v. WARDEN JEFFREY N. DILLMAN, Warden; DIRECTOR HAROLD CLARKE, Director, Respondents - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Arenda L. Wright Allen, District Judge. (2:13-cv-00505-AWA-DEM) Submitted: November 10, 2016 Decided: November 15, 2016 Before SHEDD, WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Aaron Doxie, III, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Aaron Doxie, III, seeks to appeal the district court’s order adopting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and dismissing as successive his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (2012). 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) (2012). When the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find that the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims is debatable or wrong. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000); see Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 (2003). When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable, and that the petition states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. Slack, 529 U.S. at 484-85. We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Doxie has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny Doxie’s applications seeking leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and 2 legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 3