                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                            No. 98-7284



GEORGE LEE LAWRENCE,

                                             Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


RONALD F. MOATS; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE
OF MARYLAND,

                                            Respondents - Appellees.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Greenbelt. Peter J. Messitte, District Judge. (CA-
97-1219-PJM)


Submitted:   December 15, 1998            Decided:   January 11, 1999


Before LUTTIG, WILLIAMS, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


George Lee Lawrence, Appellant Pro Se. John Joseph Curran, Jr.,
Attorney General, Annabelle Louise Lisic, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:

     Appellant seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying

relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 &

Supp. 1998).   We have reviewed the record and the district court’s

opinion adopting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and

find no reversible error.   Accordingly, we deny a certificate of

appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the

district court. Lawrence v. Moats, No. CA-97-1219-PJM (D. Md. Aug.

18, 1998).     We also find that the bench conference from which

Appellant was excluded was not a stage of the proceedings during

which his presence was constitutionally required. We dispense with

oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequate-

ly presented in the materials before the court and argument would

not aid the decisional process.




                                                         DISMISSED




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