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United States v. Joshua Berkey, 20-6564 (2013)

Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Number: 20-6564 Visitors: 10
Filed: Dec. 17, 2013
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-7377 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOSHUA JAY BERKEY, a/k/a Silk, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. John Preston Bailey, Chief District Judge. (3:07-cr-00094-JPB-JES-1; 3:13-cv-00034- JPB-JES) Submitted: December 9, 2013 Decided: December 17, 2013 Before SHEDD, AGEE, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by un
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                            UNPUBLISHED

                  UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                      FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                            No. 13-7377


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                Plaintiff - Appellee,

          v.

JOSHUA JAY BERKEY, a/k/a Silk,

                Defendant - Appellant.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. John Preston Bailey,
Chief District Judge.   (3:07-cr-00094-JPB-JES-1; 3:13-cv-00034-
JPB-JES)


Submitted:   December 9, 2013             Decided:   December 17, 2013


Before SHEDD, AGEE, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Joshua Jay Berkey, Appellant Pro Se.  Paul Thomas Camilletti,
Assistant United States Attorney, Martinsburg, West Virginia,
for Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

            Joshua Jay Berkey seeks to appeal the district court’s

order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and

dismissing as untimely his 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2013)

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) (2006).           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) (2006).               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 Berkey 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



                                           2
contentions   are   adequately   presented   in   the   materials   before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.



                                                               DISMISSED




                                   3

Source:  CourtListener

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