Filed: May 02, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-7963 DONELL D. LEE, Petitioner - Appellant, v. DAVID BALLARD, Warden, Mt. Olive Correctional Complex, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Elkins. John Preston Bailey, District Judge. (2:15-cv-00007-JPB-MJA) Submitted: April 13, 2016 Decided: May 2, 2016 Before WILKINSON and KEENAN, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unp
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-7963 DONELL D. LEE, Petitioner - Appellant, v. DAVID BALLARD, Warden, Mt. Olive Correctional Complex, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Elkins. John Preston Bailey, District Judge. (2:15-cv-00007-JPB-MJA) Submitted: April 13, 2016 Decided: May 2, 2016 Before WILKINSON and KEENAN, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpu..
More
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-7963
DONELL D. LEE,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
DAVID BALLARD, Warden, Mt. Olive Correctional Complex,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Elkins. John Preston Bailey,
District Judge. (2:15-cv-00007-JPB-MJA)
Submitted: April 13, 2016 Decided: May 2, 2016
Before WILKINSON and KEENAN, Circuit Judges, and DAVIS, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Donell D. Lee, Appellant Pro Se. Laura Young, OFFICE OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Donell D. Lee seeks to appeal the district court’s order
denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition.
The district court referred this case to a magistrate judge
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) (2012). The magistrate
judge recommended that the petition be denied and dismissed with
prejudice and advised Lee that the failure to file timely and
specific objections to this recommendation could waive appellate
review of a district court order based upon the recommendation.
Lee filed an objection to the magistrate judge’s recommendation,
and the district court overruled the objection, adopted the
magistrate judge’s recommendation, granted Respondent’s motion
for summary judgment, and denied the § 2254 petition.
The district court’s 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
2
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.
The timely filing of specific objections to a magistrate
judge’s recommendation is necessary to preserve appellate review
of the substance of that recommendation when the parties have
been warned of the consequences of noncompliance. Diamond v.
Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co.,
416 F.3d 310, 315-16
(4th Cir. 2005); Wells v. Shriners Hosp.,
109 F.3d 198, 201
(4th Cir. 1997); Wright v. Collins,
766 F.2d 841, 845-46
(4th Cir. 1985). Lee has waived appellate review of the
district court’s order by failing to file specific objections
after receiving proper notice to the magistrate judge’s
recommendation concerning all claims other than his claim
alleging that the indictment was procured through false
testimony.
With respect to that claim, we have independently reviewed
the record and conclude that Lee has not made the requisite
showing warranting the issuance of a certificate of
appealability. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of
appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, deny
3
Lee’s motion to appoint counsel, and dismiss the appeal.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED
4