Elawyers Elawyers
Washington| Change

United States v. Rafael Chikvashvili, 19-6706 (2019)

Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Number: 19-6706 Visitors: 9
Filed: Sep. 30, 2019
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 19-6706 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. RAFAEL CHIKVASHVILI, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. James K. Bredar, Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00423-JKB-1; 1:18-cv-03813-JKB) Submitted: September 24, 2019 Decided: September 30, 2019 Before WYNN and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished
More
                                    UNPUBLISHED

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                           FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                                      No. 19-6706


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                    Plaintiff - Appellee,

             v.

RAFAEL CHIKVASHVILI,

                    Defendant - Appellant.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.
James K. Bredar, Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00423-JKB-1; 1:18-cv-03813-JKB)


Submitted: September 24, 2019                               Decided: September 30, 2019


Before WYNN and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Rafael Chikvashvili, Appellant Pro Se.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:

       Rafael Chikvashvili seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his

28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or

judge issues a certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (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 motion

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 Chikvashvili has not

made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability 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




                                              2

Source:  CourtListener

Can't find what you're looking for?

Post a free question on our public forum.
Ask a Question
Search for lawyers by practice areas.
Find a Lawyer