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Washington v. Davis
Citation: 332 F. App'x 16Docket: No. 09-6523
Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; September 2, 2009; Federal Appellate Court
Elvis Washington's appeal of the district court’s orders, which treated his Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion as a successive 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition and subsequently denied it, has been dismissed. Unpublished opinions in this circuit do not serve as binding precedent. The order is not appealable unless a certificate of appealability is issued by a circuit justice or judge, as outlined in 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1). Such a certificate will only be granted if Washington demonstrates a "substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right," meaning that reasonable jurists would debate the district court's constitutional claims assessment and any procedural rulings. Upon independent review, the court concluded that Washington failed to meet this standard, resulting in the denial of the certificate of appealability and dismissal of the appeal. Furthermore, Washington’s notice of appeal and informal brief were interpreted as an application to file a second or successive petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. To be authorized for such a petition, he would need to present claims based on either a new, retroactively applicable constitutional law or newly discovered evidence that could clearly establish his innocence. Washington's claims did not fulfill either requirement, leading to the denial of authorization for a successive § 2254 petition. The court determined that oral argument was unnecessary as the existing materials sufficiently covered the facts and legal issues. The appeal is therefore dismissed.