                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                            No. 02-7391



WILLIAM HARLAN PANTHER,

                                           Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


L. JARVIS, Warden, Bland Correctional Center,

                                            Respondent - Appellee.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Roanoke. James C. Turk, District Judge.
(CA-01-712-7)


Submitted:   November 7, 2002          Decided:     November 15, 2002


Before WILKINS and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


William Harlan Panther, Appellant Pro Se.    Richard Bain Smith,
Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

     William Harlan Panther seeks to appeal the district court’s

order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and

denying relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000).

We have reviewed the record and conclude for the reasons stated by

the district court that Panther has not made a substantial showing

of the denial of a constitutional right.    See Panther v. Jarvis,

No. CA-01-712-7 (W.D. Va. Sept. 9, 2002).   Accordingly, we deny a

certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. See 28 U.S.C.

§ 2253(c) (2000). 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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