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United States v. Kelvin Spotts, 18-6625 (2018)

Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Number: 18-6625 Visitors: 20
Filed: Oct. 23, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 18-6625 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. KELVIN ANDRE SPOTTS, a/k/a Shorty, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Huntington. Robert C. Chambers, District Judge. (3:98-cr-00047-1; 3:18-cv-00784) Submitted: October 18, 2018 Decided: October 23, 2018 Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, KEENAN, Circuit Judge, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge
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                                    UNPUBLISHED

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                           FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                                      No. 18-6625


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                    Plaintiff - Appellee,

             v.

KELVIN ANDRE SPOTTS, a/k/a Shorty,

                    Defendant - Appellant.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia,
at Huntington. Robert C. Chambers, District Judge. (3:98-cr-00047-1; 3:18-cv-00784)


Submitted: October 18, 2018                                   Decided: October 23, 2018


Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, KEENAN, Circuit Judge, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Kelvin Andre Spotts, Appellant Pro Se.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

       Kelvin Andre Spotts seeks to appeal the district court’s orders denying relief on

his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) motion and denying his Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) motion. The

orders are 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 Spotts 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

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