Opinion
8:01CR163.
August 13, 2008
ORDER
Defendant has filed a notice of appeal (filing 287) from this court's order (filing 283) denying his motion for information (filing 281).
The criminal trial in this case occurred in April 2003, judgment was entered in August 2003 (filing 168), and Watkins's conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in October 2004 (filing 194) and again after remand from the United States Supreme Court in July 2005. Since the time of Watkins's conviction, sentence, and appeals, he has filed countless motions, including motions for return of seized property, for photocopies, to hold counsel in contempt, to hold a fact-finding hearing, for release of Brady materials, for an evidentiary hearing, to submit newly discovered evidence, for information, as well as appeals from the rulings on those motions. (Filings 186, 188, 192, 198, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204, 207, 220, 222, 231, 237, 241, 249, 277, 281, 287.) As noted in a prior order, Watkins has continued to "abus[e] the judicial process by encumbering the court file with motions for relief to which he is not entitled, and appeals therefrom. See 18 U.S.C. § 401 (United States courts have power to punish by fine or imprisonment contempt of its authority, including disobedience to court's process, order, or command)." (Filings 267 272.)
Accordingly, pursuant to Fed.R.App.P. 24(a), and construing the papers liberally, I conclude that because Defendant's appeal is not taken in good faith, he is not entitled to appeal in forma pauperis.
IT IS ORDERED:
1. Pursuant to Fed.R.App.P. 24(a)(3), the court certifies that Defendant's appeal is not taken in good faith, as the appeal is without any apparent legal basis;
2. Defendant is not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal; and
3. Pursuant to Fed.R.App.P. 24(a)(4), the Clerk of the Court shall forward a copy of this memorandum and order to the Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.