                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                            No. 00-7289



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                                               Plaintiff - Appellee,

          versus


ROBERT J. MERRITT,

                                              Defendant - Appellant.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Baltimore. Frederic N. Smalkin, District Judge. (CR-
95-167-S, CA-00-2468-S)


Submitted:   November 9, 2000             Decided:   December 4, 2000


Before WILKINS, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Robert J. Merritt, Appellant Pro Se. Kathleen O’Connell Gavin,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for
Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

     Robert J. Merritt seeks to appeal the district court’s order

denying his motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp.

2000).   We have reviewed the record and the district court’s opin-

ion and find no reversible error.    Accordingly, we deny a certif-

icate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of

the district court.   See United States v. Merritt, Nos. CR-95-167-

S; CA-00-2468-S (D. Md. Aug. 17, 2000).*   We deny Merritt’s motion

for release pending appeal. We dispense with oral argument because

the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the ma-

terials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional

process.




                                                          DISMISSED




     *
       Although the district court’s order is marked as “filed” on
August 16, 2000, the district court’s record shows that it was
entered on the docket sheet on August 17, 2000. Pursuant to Rules
58 and 79(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is the
date that the judgment or order was entered on the docket sheet
that we take as the effective date of the district court’s
decision. See Wilson v. Murray, 806 F.2d 1232, 1234-35 (4th Cir.
1986).


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