                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT



                            No. 97-6944



BERNARD THOMAS HORTON,

                                           Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


ARCHIE GEE, Warden; 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-
97-334)


Submitted:   October 10, 1997          Decided:     November 12, 1997


Before HALL, HAMILTON, and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Bernard Thomas Horton, Appellant Pro Se. Ann Norman Bosse, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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 appeals 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

accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and find no

reversible error. Accordingly, while we grant Appellant's motion to
amend his pleadings, we deny a certificate of appealability and

dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court. Horton
v. Gee, No. CA-97-334 (D. Md. June 19, 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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