Kevin Flood v.

503 F. App'x 122
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedNovember 6, 2012
Docket12-3655
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 503 F. App'x 122 (Kevin Flood v.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kevin Flood v., 503 F. App'x 122 (3d Cir. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

PER CURIAM.

Kevin Patrick Flood, a federal prisoner, has filed a petition for writ of mandamus, asking that his section 2255 proceedings, 28 U.S.C. § 2255, be reassigned to a different District Judge and referred to a different Magistrate Judge. For the reasons that follow, we will deny the petition.

Following the denial of pretrial motions to suppress and for testing of audiotapes and other evidence, Flood was convicted of conspiracy to possess and distribute mari *123 juana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On November 20, 2007, he was sentenced by United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson to a term of imprisonment of 180 months and 8 years of supervised release. We affirmed the conviction and sentence on appeal, see United States v. Flood, 389 Fed.Appx. 210 (3d Cir.2009), holding, in pertinent part, that probable cause supported the issuance of an anticipatory search warrant and that the District Court’s denial of Flood’s motion for the testing of audio recordings made by the confidential informant was not an abuse of discretion. With regard to the request to test the audiotapes, we agreed with the District Court that Flood had waived his right to request testing, see id. at 214, and we noted that, in any event, “the authenticity and accuracy of the evidence precluded the need to authorize funding for expert testing.” Id.

On February 24, 2011, Flood filed a section 2255 motion to vacate sentence, in which he contended that trial counsel rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance in failing to move to suppress the audiotapes based on a violation of the sealing requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 2518 and failing to timely request testing of the audiotapes; refusing to challenge “audio tape tampering” and violations of the sealing requirements; failing to quash the indictment; and refusing to call a witness to rebut the police version of his interrogation. United States Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto issued a Miller notice, see United States v. Miller, 197 F.3d 644 (3d Cir.1999), and thereafter Flood elected to proceed on the merits of his section 2255 motion.

Missing a deadline previously established for its response, on July 25, 2011, the Government filed a motion for an extension of time in which to respond to Flood’s section 2255 motion. On August 8, 2011, Flood filed a motion for a default judgment, and, on September 6, 2011, Flood filed opposition to an extension. He also filed five letters, a sealed document, a motion to clarify, a motion to bring the court up to date, and an item titled “Judicial Notice.” This last item was filed on June 1, 2012.

On June 6, 2012, Magistrate Judge Pesto ruled on Flood’s motions, essentially denying them. On June 21, 2012, Flood filed an item titled “Objections to magistrate Judge Pesto’s orders; and Petitioner’s demand for the Production of the Original Audio Tapes and Ruling on Recusal Issues.” See Docket Entry No. 18. On July 6, 2012, Flood filed an item titled “Motion for forensic test Original Tapes and Evidentiary Hearing,” and, on July 11, 2012, he filed an item titled “Ex Parte to Judge Gibson ... requesting a ruling on Doc. No. 18, objections to MJ-Pesto’s order, etc., to be expedited for good cause.” See Docket Entry No. 20.

On July 31, 2012, the Government moved again for an extension of time in which to respond to Flood’s section 2255 motion; the request was based on the Government’s need to comb through Flood’s numerous additional submissions. Flood again opposed the extension, but, on September 6, 2012, Magistrate Judge Pesto granted the Government’s request and ordered that its response be filed on or before October 1, 2012. On September 17, 2012, Flood filed objections to the Magistrate Judge’s order granting the Government an extension of time to respond.

On September 25, 2012, Flood filed a petition for writ of mandamus in this Court, asking us to reassign his section 2255 case to different District and Magistrate Judges. Flood asserted that District Judge Gibson and Magistrate Judge Pesto “have been using their position (criminal in *124 nature) to cover up and conceal crimes involving government officers.” Petition, at 1. Both judges are biased and prejudiced against him, Flood argues, because they have refused to enforce the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Judge Gibson, for example, “is still refusing to obey rule 72(a) and Flood has never given his written permission that magistrate Judge Pesto make any final orders and rulings.” Id. at 2. In addition to disqualifying Judges Gibson and Pesto, Flood asks us to strike any response filed by the Government to his section 2255 motion until this mandamus request is resolved, and that we appoint a master under Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 53 to address his spoliation argument. Flood has filed separate motions in this Court to stay the proceedings in the District Court until we resolve his mandamus petition, and for appointment of a master.

Meanwhile, the Government asked for an additional extension of time in which to file its section 2255 response, and Magistrate Judge Pesto granted that request on October 3, 2012. The Government now has until October 31, 2012, or twenty (20) days after we rule on Flood’s mandamus petition, whichever is later, in which to file its section 2255 response.

We will deny the petition for writ of mandamus. Our jurisdiction derives from 28 U.S.C. § 1651, which grants us the power to “issue all writs necessary or appropriate in aid of (our) ... jurisdiction and agreeable to the usages and principles of law.” A writ of mandamus will only issue under extraordinary circumstances. See Sporck v. Peil, 759 F.2d 312, 314 (3d Cir.1985). To justify the use of this extraordinary remedy, a petitioner must show both a clear and indisputable right to the writ and that he has no other adequate means to obtain the relief desired. See Haines v. Liggett Group Inc., 975 F.2d 81, 89 (3d Cir.1992).

Flood does not meet the stringent requirements for mandamus relief in that he has an alternative remedy and other adequate means to obtain the relief he desires. Flood may seek recusal by filing a motion for recusal in the district court under the standards set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 144 and/or 28 U.S.C. § 455. See In re: Flood, 2012 WL 4513237 (3d Cir.2012). Any such request for recusal should be filed in a separate motion

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Related

In re: Kevin Flood v.
537 F. App'x 13 (Third Circuit, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
503 F. App'x 122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kevin-flood-v-ca3-2012.