Lawrence Donal Howerton, Jr. v. JEFFREY DILLMAN, Warden; GENE M. JOHNSON, Director

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-7979
LAWRENCE DONAL HOWERTON, JR.,
Petitioner – Appellant,
v.
JEFFREY DILLMAN, Warden; GENE M. JOHNSON, Director,
Respondents – Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Samuel G. Wilson, District
Judge. (7:09-cv-00237-sgw-mfu)
Submitted: January 19, 2010 Decided: January 28, 2010
Before NIEMEYER, KING, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Lawrence Donal Howerton, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Lawrence Donal Howerton, Jr., seeks to appeal the
district court’s order dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006)
petition as untimely filed. The order is not appealable unless
a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of
appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1) (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). A prisoner satisfies this
standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists would find
that any assessment of the constitutional claims by the district
court is debatable or wrong and that any dispositive procedural
ruling by the district court is likewise debatable. See Miller-
El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336-38 (2003); Slack v. McDaniel,
529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000); Rose v. Lee, 252 F.3d 676, 683-84 (4th
Cir. 2001). We have independently reviewed the record and
conclude that Howerton 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 the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
DISMISSED

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