                              UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                              No. 01-7585



JERRY EUGENE RUSSELL,

                                             Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


JAMES B. FRENCH,

                                              Respondent - Appellee.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Graham C. Mullen, Chief
District Judge. (CA-01-71-3-1MU)


Submitted:   March 14, 2002                 Decided:   March 22, 2002


Before NIEMEYER and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Jerry Eugene Russell, Appellant Pro Se. Clarence Joe DelForge, III,
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NORTH CAROLINA, Raleigh, North
Carolina, for Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

     Jerry Eugene Russell seeks to appeal the district court’s

order denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254

(West 1994 & Supp. 2001).   We have reviewed the record and the dis-

trict court’s opinion and find no reversible error.    Accordingly,

we deny Russell’s motion for a certificate of appealability and

dismiss the appeal on the reasoning of the district court.      See

Russell v. French, No. CA-01-71-3-1MU (W.D.N.C. Aug. 24, 2001). 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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