Stevens v. North Carolina - Habeas Corpus Appeal

4th Circuit Daily Opinions

Filed March 30th, 2026

Detected March 31st, 2026

Summary

The Fourth Circuit dismissed petitioner Claude Mordecia Stevens' appeal seeking to challenge the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition. The court denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed the appeal, finding Stevens failed to demonstrate that reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of his constitutional claims debatable or wrong.

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What changed

The Fourth Circuit dismissed Stevens' appeal from the Eastern District of North Carolina, which had denied relief on his federal habeas petition challenging his state conviction. The court independently reviewed the record and concluded Stevens did not meet the standard for a certificate of appealability under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2), which requires a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.

This is a routine procedural dismissal with no certificate of appealability issued. The petitioner has no further appeal rights in this proceeding. No action is required by any party, and this unpublished per curiam opinion does not constitute binding precedent in the Fourth Circuit.

Source document (simplified)

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 24-6985

CLAUDE MORDECIA STEVENS, Petitioner - Appellant,

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Richard E. Myers, II, Chief District Judge. (5:23-hc-02040-M-RJ) Submitted: March 26, 2026 Decided: March 30, 2026 Before RICHARDSON and BERNER, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Claude Mordecia Stevens, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM: Claude Mordecia Stevens seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 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). We have independently reviewed the record and conclude that Stevens 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.