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United States v. Coats

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jun 22, 2017
No. 17-6143 (4th Cir. Jun. 22, 2017)

Opinion

No. 17-6143

06-22-2017

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. BRYAN COATS, Defendant - Appellant.

Bryan Coats, Appellant Pro Se. Amy Elizabeth Ray, Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee.


UNPUBLISHED

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert J. Conrad, Jr., District Judge. (3:11-cr-00309-RJC-1; 3:16-cv-00452-RJC) Before SHEDD, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Bryan Coats, Appellant Pro Se. Amy Elizabeth Ray, Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

Bryan Coats seeks to appeal the district court's order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2012) 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) (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 Coats has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Coats' motion for 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

United States v. Coats

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jun 22, 2017
No. 17-6143 (4th Cir. Jun. 22, 2017)
Case details for

United States v. Coats

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. BRYAN COATS, Defendant…

Court:UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Jun 22, 2017

Citations

No. 17-6143 (4th Cir. Jun. 22, 2017)