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Mbewe v. Bishop

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jun 13, 2017
No. 16-7760 (4th Cir. Jun. 13, 2017)

Opinion

No. 16-7760

06-13-2017

FRANCIS C. MBEWE, Petitioner - Appellant, v. FRANK BISHOP; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Respondents - Appellees.

Francis C. Mbewe, Petitioner Pro Se. Edward John Kelley, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Respondents.


UNPUBLISHED

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. James K. Bredar, District Judge. (1:14-cv-01676-JKB) Before NIEMEYER, SHEDD, and AGEE, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Francis C. Mbewe, Petitioner Pro Se. Edward John Kelley, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Respondents. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

Francis C. Mbewe seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A) (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 petition 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 Mbewe 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


Summaries of

Mbewe v. Bishop

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jun 13, 2017
No. 16-7760 (4th Cir. Jun. 13, 2017)
Case details for

Mbewe v. Bishop

Case Details

Full title:FRANCIS C. MBEWE, Petitioner - Appellant, v. FRANK BISHOP; ATTORNEY…

Court:UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Jun 13, 2017

Citations

No. 16-7760 (4th Cir. Jun. 13, 2017)