Background
Deonte Fatrell McCoy sought to appeal district court orders denying relief on his Section twenty-eight U.S.C. Section two thousand two hundred fifty-five motion and denying reconsideration. The district court had denied relief on the merits.
The court’s reasoning
The court noted that orders denying relief on a Section twenty-eight U.S.C. Section two thousand two hundred fifty-five motion are not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. To obtain such a certificate, a prisoner must make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. When relief is denied on the merits, the prisoner must demonstrate that reasonable jurists could find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong. The court independently reviewed the record and concluded that McCoy had not made the requisite showing.
What it means going forward
The dismissal prevents the appellant from pursuing further appellate review of the Section twenty-eight U.S.C. Section two thousand two hundred fifty-five motion in the Fourth Circuit without a certificate of appealability.
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