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United States v. Melgoza

United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Oct 5, 2022
1:06-cr-00253-JLT-4 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 5, 2022)

Opinion

1:06-cr-00253-JLT-4

10-05-2022

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. VIRGILIO MELGOZA, JR., Defendant.


ORDER GRANTING REQUEST FOR MINUTE ORDER AND DENYING REQUEST FOR TRANSCRIPT

(DOC. 238)

ORDER DIRECTING CLERK OF COURT TO PROVIDE COPY OF AUGUST 20, 2021, MINUTE ORDER (DOC. 210) AND TRANSCRIPT ORDERING FORM

On August 20, 2021, Virgilio Melgoza, Jr., was sentenced to a 33-month term in imprisonment in connection with a violation of the terms of his supervised release. (Docs. 210, 211.) On May 10, 2022, Defendant filed a one-page request for any transcript from his August 20, 2021, sentencing hearing and/or any related minute orders. (Doc. 238.) Defendant also requests a copy of any “appeal that was supposed to be filed via my attorney Tino Perez out of the public defender's office.” (Id.)

Although Defendant's May 10, 2022, filing indicates that he was at that time incarcerated at FCI Berlin, according to the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, as of the date of this order he is presently incarcerated at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, in Brooklyn, New York.

Because no transcript has been prepared in connection with the August 20, 2021, sentencing hearing, the Court cannot send Defendant a copy. However, as a courtesy, the Court will direct the Clerk of Court to send Defendant a copy of the minute order, which was docketed after the hearing: Doc. 210. As for any appeal documents, the docket does not reflect that a notice of appeal was filed. Accordingly, the Court ORDERS:

To the extent Defendant is requesting that the Court order the Court Reporter to produce a transcript of that hearing, the Court declines that request. The Court is empowered to do so only under certain circumstances. For example, the Criminal Justice Act allows the Court to fund the production of a transcript in connection with a motion for post-conviction relief brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, but only “if the trial judge or a circuit judge certifies that the suit or appeal is not frivolous and that the transcript is needed to decide the issue presented by the suit or appeal.” 29 U.S.C. § 753(f). Here, Defendant has not established that he has filed or could file any post-conviction motion that is not frivolous, nor has he established that the requested transcript is necessary for a decision to be rendered on any such collateral challenge. See United States v. Connors, 904 F.2d 535, 536 (9th Cir. 1990) (“Although Connors is indigent, he has not filed a habeas petition, and therefore is not entitled to copies of his trial transcript at government expense until he does so.”); United States v. Lucatero, No. 05-cr-0443-WBS, 2007 WL 1747077, at *2 (E.D. Cal. June 18, 2007) (“The vast majority of courts have interpreted [28 U.S.C. § 753(f)] to mean that until a prisoner actually ‘brings a proceeding under section 2255,' he is not entitled under § 753(f) to have costs for creating or copying such transcripts or other documents paid by the United States.”). Defendant may request that a transcript be produced at his own expense. The Court will direct the Clerk of Court to provide Defendant with a copy of the transcript ordering form.

(1) The Clerk of Court is directed to update Defendant's Address to: MDC Brooklyn, 80 29th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232.
(2) Defendant's request for a copy of the Court's August 20, 2021, Minute Order for proceedings related to his supervised release sentencing (Doc. 210) is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed to send a copy of that Minute Order to Defendant.
(3) Defendant's request for a copy of the transcript from the August 20, 2021, hearing is DENIED.
(4) The Clerk of Court is also directed to provide a copy of the Court's transcript ordering form to Defendant.

IT IS SO ORDERED.


Summaries of

United States v. Melgoza

United States District Court, Eastern District of California
Oct 5, 2022
1:06-cr-00253-JLT-4 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 5, 2022)
Case details for

United States v. Melgoza

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. VIRGILIO MELGOZA, JR., Defendant.

Court:United States District Court, Eastern District of California

Date published: Oct 5, 2022

Citations

1:06-cr-00253-JLT-4 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 5, 2022)