# James Brown v. Gail Watts

> Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · February 23, 2022

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/7375303

## Case

- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- **Decided:** February 23, 2022
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

USCA4 Appeal: 21-7563 Doc: 9 Filed: 02/23/2022 Pg: 1 of 2

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 21-7563

JAMES CLINTON BROWN,

Petitioner - Appellant,

v.

DIRECTOR GAIL WATTS; JUDGE ALEXANDER; STATES ATTORNEY LISA
FOX DEVER,

Respondents - Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.
Stephanie A. Gallagher, District Judge. (1:21-cv-02293-SAG)

Submitted: February 17, 2022 Decided: February 23, 2022

Before AGEE and RUSHING, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

James Clinton Brown, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 21-7563 Doc: 9 Filed: 02/23/2022 Pg: 2 of 2

PER CURIAM:

James Clinton Brown, a state pre-trial detainee, seeks to appeal the district court’s

order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition. The order is not appealable unless a

circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. 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, 137 S. Ct. 759, 773-74 (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

2

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/7375303. Public record. Not legal advice.