                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT



                            No. 97-6815



DANA LEE HOWARD,

                                            Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


RICHARD A. LANHAM, SR.; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF
THE STATE OF MARYLAND,

                                           Respondents - Appellees.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Baltimore. J. Frederick Motz, Chief District Judge.
(CA-96-3628-JFM)


Submitted:   December 18, 1997            Decided:   January 7, 1998


Before WILKINS, NIEMEYER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Dana Lee Howard, Appellant Pro Se. John Joseph Curran, Jr., Attor-
ney 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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. 1997). We have reviewed the record and the district court's

opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a cer-

tificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning
of the district court. Howard v. Lanham, No. CA-96-3628-JFM (D. Md.
May 1, 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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