United States v. Christopher Joseph

Opinion

Case: 19-30369 Document: 00515173652 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/25/2019

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

No. 19-30369 FILED Summary Calendar October 25, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:13-CR-184-3

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, SOUTHWICK, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Christopher Joseph, federal prisoner # 33190-034, moves for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) in this purported direct appeal of the sentence imposed following his drug conspiracy conviction. The district court has not yet considered the magistrate judge’s ruling on Joseph’s IFP motion; thus, we lack jurisdiction to consider the magistrate judge’s ruling. See Donaldson v. Ducote, 373 F.3d 622, 624-25 (5th Cir. 2004).

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

Case: 19-30369 Document: 00515173652 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/25/2019

No. 19-30369

Furthermore, we previously dismissed Joseph’s direct appeal as frivolous.

See United States v. Joseph, 631 F. App’x 247, 248 (5th Cir. 2016). His attempt to challenge his sentence in a second direct appeal is without arguable merit and is, therefore, frivolous. See 5TH CIR. R. 42.2; United States v. Arlt, 567 F.2d 1295, 1296-97 (5th Cir. 1978).

Accordingly, the appeal is DISMISSED in part for lack of jurisdiction and in part as frivolous. The IFP motion is DENIED.