                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT



                            No. 97-7136



RONALD CHARLES WAGENER,

                                           Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA PRISON SYSTEM,

                                            Respondent - Appellee.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Richmond. James R. Spencer, District Judge.
(CA-96-729-3)


Submitted:   February 26, 1998            Decided:   March 18, 1998


Before WILKINS, NIEMEYER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Ronald Charles Wagener, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Bain Smith,
Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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. 1997). We have reviewed the record and the district court's

opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny leave to

proceed in forma pauperis, deny a certificate of appealability, and
dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court. Wagener
v. Director, Virginia Prison System, No. CA-96-729-3 (E.D. Va.

July 14, 1997). We dispense with oral argument because the facts

and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials

before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.




                                                         DISMISSED




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