Case Explained: DONALD HERRINGTON v. JOSEPH WALTERS

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-14 The Fourth Circuit denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed the appeal because the appellant failed to make the requisite “substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right” under 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c). The court applied the standard that when a district court denies relief on procedural grounds, a prisoner must demonstrate both that the dispositive procedural ruling is debatable and that the petition states a debatable claim of the denial of a constitutional right. After independently reviewing the record, the court concluded that Herrington did not establish that Virginia law entitled him to additional earned sentence credit for time spent in jail prior to incarceration following a final order of conviction, citing Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-202.2(A) and *White v. Dotson*. Consequently, no certificate of appealability will issue, the appeal is dismissed, and Herrington’s motions to expedite and to request a certified question are denied as moot. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.