Filed: Feb. 05, 2009
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-6549 HOWARD FRANK NEAL, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HELEN FAHEY, Virginia Parole Board - in her Individual and Official Capacities; CAROL ANN SIEVERS, Vice Chairman - in her Individual and Official Capacities; HERBERT V. COUTON, Board Member - in his Individual and Official Capacities; DAVID N. HARKER, Board Member - in his Individual and Official Capacities; MICHAEL M. HAWES, Board Member - in his Individual and Official Ca
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-6549 HOWARD FRANK NEAL, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HELEN FAHEY, Virginia Parole Board - in her Individual and Official Capacities; CAROL ANN SIEVERS, Vice Chairman - in her Individual and Official Capacities; HERBERT V. COUTON, Board Member - in his Individual and Official Capacities; DAVID N. HARKER, Board Member - in his Individual and Official Capacities; MICHAEL M. HAWES, Board Member - in his Individual and Official Cap..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-6549
HOWARD FRANK NEAL,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
HELEN FAHEY, Virginia Parole Board - in her Individual and
Official Capacities; CAROL ANN SIEVERS, Vice Chairman - in her
Individual and Official Capacities; HERBERT V. COUTON, Board
Member - in his Individual and Official Capacities; DAVID N.
HARKER, Board Member - in his Individual and Official
Capacities; MICHAEL M. HAWES, Board Member - in his Individual
and Official Capacities; H. RANDOLPH POWELL, Warden, Brunswick
Correctional Center - in his Individual and Official Capacities,
Respondents - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond. James R. Spencer, Chief
District Judge. (3:07-cv-00374-JRS)
Submitted: January 23, 2009 Decided: February 5, 2009
Before WILKINSON, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Howard Frank Neal, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Carson Vorhis, Senior
Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Howard Frank Neal seeks to appeal the district court’s
order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000) petition. The
order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a
certificate of appealability. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (2000). 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 Neal has not
made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny a certificate of
appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and dismiss
the appeal. 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
2