Stephen Montalto v. MS Department of Corrections

947 F.3d 342

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: January 21, 2020
• Docket: 18-60274
• Status: Published

Opinion

Case: 18-60274 Document: 00515278853 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/21/2020

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

No. 18-60274 FILED January 21, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce STEPHEN DANIEL MONTALTO, Clerk

Petitioner - Appellee

v.

MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; PELICIA HALL, COMMISSIONER, MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

Respondents - Appellants

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi

Before DAVIS, HIGGINSON, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges. STEPHEN A. HIGGINSON, Circuit Judge: This panel previously remanded this case to the district court with instructions that “it provide a supplemental order setting forth actual findings, if any,” as to professional misconduct by the attorneys in this case. Montalto v. Miss. Dep’t of Corr., 938 F.3d 649, 658 (5th Cir. 2019). On December 9, 2019, the district court granted the parties’ joint motion to approve their proposed “Agreed Order.” In the “Agreed Order,” the district court clarifies that its “previous order contained no formal findings of professional misconduct and imposed no sanctions on the attorneys or parties involved in this case.” Case: 18-60274 Document: 00515278853 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/21/2020

No. 18-60274 Because the district court made no “actual finding[s] of professional misconduct,” United States v. El-Mezain, 664 F.3d 467, 579 (5th Cir. 2011), the appeal is DISMISSED.