In re: Micah Moreland

Opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 25-1096

In re: MICAH D. MORELAND, Petitioner.

On Petition for Writ of Mandamus to the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. (3:24-mc-00033-GMG)

Submitted: March 27, 2025 Decided: April 1, 2025

Before THACKER and BERNER, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Micah D. Moreland, Petitioner Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:

Micah D. Moreland petitions for a writ of mandamus seeking an order directing the district court to file his submitted documents for litigation as a civil case rather than a miscellaneous case. We conclude that Moreland 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).

The relief sought by Moreland is not available by way of mandamus. Because the relief Moreland seeks would “invade the broad discretion that is given to the district court to manage its docket,” mandamus relief is not appropriate. In re Strickland, 87 F.4th 257, 261 (4th Cir. 2023) (alteration and internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, when the district court enters a final order in the miscellaneous case, Moreland may file a notice of appeal. In re Lockheed Martin Corp., 503 F.3d 351, 353 (4th Cir. 2007) (stating that mandamus “may not be used as a substitute for appeal”). Accordingly, 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