From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

United States v. Curran

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jun 8, 2017
No. 15-7825 (4th Cir. Jun. 8, 2017)

Opinion

No. 15-7825

06-08-2017

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOHN F. JEF CURRAN, III, Defendant - Appellant.

John F. Jef Curran, III, Appellant Pro Se. Leo Joseph Wise, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.


UNPUBLISHED

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Richard D. Bennett, District Judge. (1:11-cr-00687-RBD-1; 1:14-cv-03932-RDB) Before MOTZ, KING, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. John F. Jef Curran, III, Appellant Pro Se. Leo Joseph Wise, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:

John F. Jef Curran, III, 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. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B) (2012); Buck v. Davis, 137 S. Ct. 759, 773 (2017). 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 Curran has not made the requisite showing. Accordingly, although we grant Curran's motions to file a supplemental brief, we deny a certificate of appealability, deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis, deny the other pending motions, 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. Curran

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Jun 8, 2017
No. 15-7825 (4th Cir. Jun. 8, 2017)
Case details for

United States v. Curran

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOHN F. JEF CURRAN…

Court:UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Jun 8, 2017

Citations

No. 15-7825 (4th Cir. Jun. 8, 2017)