United States of America v. Rico Lamont Martin

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-6146
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
RICO LAMONT MARTIN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
Greenville. Bruce H. Hendricks, District Judge. (6:16-cr-00615-BHH-1; 6:19-cv-01054-
BHH)
Submitted: June 30, 2021 Decided: July 2, 2021
Before AGEE, WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Jeremy Brian Gordon, JEREMY GORDON, PLLC, Mansfield, Texas, for Appellant.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Rico Lamont Martin seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his
28 U.S.C. § 2255 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). 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 the district court denies relief on the merits, a
prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists could find the
district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong. See Buck v.
Davis, 137 S. Ct. 759, 773-74 (2017).
We have reviewed the record and conclude that Martin 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 this court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
DISMISSED

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