UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 04-6850 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus

DARIUS MAURICE BAILEY, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Rebecca Beach Smith, District

Judge. (CR-96-90; CA-04-239-2)

Submitted: September 8, 2004 Decided: September 21, 2004

Before SHEDD and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior

Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Darius Maurice Bailey, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Joseph Seidel,

Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Norfolk, Virginia, for

Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

- 2 - PER CURIAM: Darius Maurice Bailey appeals the district court§ 2255 (2000) and denying it as untimely. BaileyÂ’s motion

challenges the district courtÂ’s jurisdiction at the time of his

conviction. Because Bailey timely objected to the district courtÂ’s

recharacterization, Bailey was entitled to have the district court

“rule on the merits of [his] motion as filed.” United States v. Emmanuel

, 288 F.3d 644, 649 (4th Cir. 2002). Although the district court erred in converting the motion in the face of BaileyÂ’s

objection, it is clear from the record that the motion as

characterized by Bailey was without merit. Because we are able to

affirm the judgment of a district court on any basis supported by

the record, we affirm the district courtÂ’s denial of BaileyÂ’s

motion. See

Eisenberg v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. , 301 F.3d 220, 222 (4th Cir. 2002). 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. AFFIRMED