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United States v. Butts, 07-6438 (2007)

Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Number: 07-6438 Visitors: 24
Filed: Jun. 22, 2007
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 07-6438 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus LORENZO BUTTS, JR., a/k/a Lorenza Butts, a/k/a Lorenza Butts, Jr. Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Jerome B. Friedman, District Judge. (2:00-cr-00067-JBF) Submitted: June 15, 2007 Decided: June 22, 2007 Before WIDENER, MICHAEL, and KING, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per
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                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                            No. 07-6438



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                                               Plaintiff - Appellee,

          versus


LORENZO BUTTS, JR., a/k/a Lorenza Butts, a/k/a
Lorenza Butts, Jr.

                                            Defendant - Appellant.


Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Jerome B. Friedman, District
Judge. (2:00-cr-00067-JBF)


Submitted: June 15, 2007                    Decided:   June 22, 2007


Before WIDENER, MICHAEL, and KING, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Lorenzo Butts, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Kevin Michael Comstock,
Joseph Evan DePadilla, Assistant United States Attorneys, Norfolk,
Virginia, for Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

            Lorenzo Butts, Jr.     seeks to appeal the district court’s

order treating his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion as a successive 28

U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion, and dismissing it on that basis.             The

order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a

certificate of appealability.       28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000); Reid

v. Angelone, 
369 F.3d 363
, 369 (4th Cir. 2004).          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) (2000).

A prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable

jurists would find that any assessment of the constitutional claims

by   the   district   court   is   debatable    or   wrong   and   that   any

dispositive procedural ruling by the district court is likewise

debatable.    Miller-El v. Cockrell, 
537 U.S. 322
, 336-38 (2003);

Slack v. McDaniel, 
529 U.S. 473
, 484 (2000); Rose v. Lee, 
252 F.3d 676
, 683-84 (4th Cir. 2001).        We have independently reviewed the

record and conclude that Butts has not made the requisite showing.

Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the

appeal.

            Additionally, we construe Butts’ notice of appeal and

informal brief as an application to file a second or successive

motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.        United States v. Winestock, 
340 F.3d 200
, 208 (4th Cir. 2003).      In order to obtain authorization to

file a successive § 2255 motion, a prisoner must assert claims


                                   - 2 -
based on either: (1) a new rule of constitutional law, previously

unavailable, made retroactive by the Supreme Court to cases on

collateral review; or (2) newly discovered evidence, not previously

discoverable      by   due   diligence,   that   would   be    sufficient   to

establish    by    clear     and   convincing    evidence     that,   but   for

constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder would have found the

movant guilty of the offense.             28 U.S.C. §§ 2244(b)(2), 2255

(2000).     Butts’ claims do not satisfy either of these criteria.

Therefore, we deny authorization to file a successive § 2255

motion.

            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




                                     - 3 -

Source:  CourtListener

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