Opinion
24-1757
09-16-2024
In re: DAVID HILL, Petitioner.
David Hill, Petitioner Pro Se.
UNPUBLISHED
Submitted: September 12, 2024
On Petition for a Writ of Mandamus to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. (1:01-cr-00191-CMH-1)
David Hill, Petitioner Pro Se.
Before THACKER and RUSHING, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM
David Hill petitions for a writ of mandamus seeking an order directing the district court to grant Hill's motions for relief from judgment in a civil action and for reconsideration of the court's order imposing a prefiling injunction (PFI) in his criminal case. We conclude that Hill is not entitled to mandamus relief.
Mandamus relief is a drastic remedy and should be used only in extraordinary circumstances. Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Ct., 542 U.S. 367, 380 (2004); In re Murphy-Brown, LLC, 907 F.3d 788, 795 (4th Cir. 2018). Further, mandamus relief is available only when the petitioner has a clear right to the relief sought and "has no other adequate means to attain the relief [he] desires." Murphy-Brown, 907 F.3d at 795 (alteration and internal quotation marks omitted).
Mandamus may not be used as a substitute for appeal, In re Lockheed Martin Corp., 503 F.3d 351, 353 (4th Cir. 2007), and we previously affirmed the district court's order denying Hill's motions, see United States v. Hill, No. 23-7052, 2024 WL 1406218 (4th Cir. Apr. 2, 2024). To the extent that the instant petition also contains substantive challenges to the PFI, we observe that Hill has already unsuccessfully challenged the PFI on appeal, see United States v. Hill, No. 22-7439, 2023 WL 3734977 (4th Cir. May 31, 2023), and thus his current challenges are not properly before us.
Because, at bottom, the relief sought by Hill is not available by way of mandamus, we deny the petition for writ of mandamus. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED.