# Norma Brown v. Patrick Morrisey

> Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · December 27, 2024

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10771944

## Case

- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- **Decided:** December 27, 2024
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

USCA4 Appeal: 24-6960 Doc: 13 Filed: 12/27/2024 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 24-6960

NORMA BROWN, f/k/a Norma B. Griffin,

Petitioner - Appellant,

v.

PATRICK MORRISEY, West Virginia Attorney General,

Respondent - Appellee,

and

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA; HOME CONFINEMENT DEPARTMENT OF
GREENBRIER COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA,

Respondents.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at
Beckley. Frank W. Volk, Chief District Judge. (5:19-cv-00196)

Submitted: December 19, 2024 Decided: December 27, 2024

Before KING and BERNER, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Norma Brown, Appellant Pro Se. Andrea Nease Proper, Michael Ray Williams, OFFICE
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WEST VIRGINIA, Charleston, West Virginia, for
USCA4 Appeal: 24-6960 Doc: 13 Filed: 12/27/2024 Pg: 2 of 3

Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2
USCA4 Appeal: 24-6960 Doc: 13 Filed: 12/27/2024 Pg: 3 of 3

PER CURIAM:

Norma Brown seeks to appeal the district court’s order adopting the

recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying relief on Brown’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254

petition. The order is not appealable unless a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of

appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A). 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, 580 U.S. 100, 115-17

(2017). When the district court denies relief on procedural grounds, the prisoner must

demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable and that the petition

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 Brown 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

3

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10771944. Public record. Not legal advice.