                              UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT



                              No. 97-7125



JOHN ROBERT HAMLIN,

                                            Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


DAVID GARRAGHTY, Warden,

                                             Respondent - Appellee.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District
Judge. (CA-96-1308)


Submitted:   April 29, 1998                  Decided:   May 14, 1998


Before MURNAGHAN, NIEMEYER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


John Robert Hamlin, Appellant Pro Se. John H. McLees, Jr., OFFICE
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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 a cer-

tificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning
of the district court. Hamlin v. Garraghty, No. CA-96-1308 (E.D.
Va. July 22, 1997). We also deny Appellant's motion for in forma

pauperis. 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




                                2
