Opinion
2:13-mj-317-KJN
05-17-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. MAURICE M. WHITE, Defendant.
ORDER
KENDALL J. NEWMAN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
On October 8, 2013, the court entered judgment against defendant on two misdemeanor counts under 18 U.S.C. § 13 pursuant to defendant's plea of guilty. (ECF No. 4.) This judgment required, among other things, that plaintiff pay a $20 special assessment to begin immediately, and a $500 fine, to be paid within one year. (ECF No. 3.)
The matter was referred to the undersigned pursuant to Local Rule 302(b)(3).
On April 26, 2023, defendant wrote the court, asserting he is currently incarcerated pursuant to an unrelated matter and requesting his $520 balance be waived. (ECF No. 5.) The Government responded, opposing defendant's request because he failed to identify any legally cognizable authority to overturn his judgment, and noting the time to appeal the judgment has long since expired. (ECF No. 9.) The Government noted that the court previously allowed defendant a year to pay his fine, that by 2015 he had not done so, and that the only apparent reason he was making this request in 2023 was because the Government recently sent him a formal demand letter pursuant to its Notice of Intent to Offset his debt under the Treasury Offset Program. (Id.)
On this matter, the court concurs with the Government. Defendant makes his request pursuant to no authority, and the court knows of none. Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, “[a]n appeal permitted by law as of right from a district court to a court of appeals may be taken only by filing a notice of appeal with the district clerk within the time allowed by Rule 4.” Fed. R. App. P. 3(a); see also F.R.A.P. 3(a)(3) (“An appeal from a judgment by a magistrate judge in a civil case is taken in the same way as an appeal from any other district court judgment.” Under Rule 4(b)(1)(A) “[i]n a criminal case, a defendant's notice of appeal must be filed in the district court within 14 days after [] the entry of either the judgment or the order being appealed . . . .” Defendant's judgment was entered in 2013, and so his request is long past the deadline for appeal. Therefore, defendant's request for his fine to be waived is DENIED. Dated: May 17, 2023