United States of America v. William Roosevelt Cloud

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-6858
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
WILLIAM ROOSEVELT CLOUD,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at
Charlotte. Frank D. Whitney, District Judge. (3:06-cr-00096-FDW-DSC-1; 3:19-cv-
00557-FDW)
Submitted: October 20, 2020 Decided: October 23, 2020
Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, DIAZ, Circuit Judge, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
William Roosevelt Cloud, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
William Roosevelt Cloud seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing his 28
U.S.C. § 2255 motion as unauthorized and successive. 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). 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). When, as here, 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. Gonzalez v. Thaler, 565 U.S. 134, 140-41 (2012) (citing
Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000)).
We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Cloud has not made
the requisite showing. Accordingly, we deny Cloud’s 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

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