Case Explained: Summary Calendar United States of America Plaintiff— v. Robert L. Hedrick Defendant—

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-16

The fifth-circuit dismissed Robert L. Hedrick’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction and denied his motion to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) as well as his motion for recusal. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal regarding orders from his criminal proceeding because the underlying motions were “meaningless, unauthorized” requests with no legal basis. Furthermore, the court found it lacked jurisdiction over the appeals concerning his § 2255 and § 2241 proceedings because Hedrick failed to file a timely notice of appeal, a mandatory jurisdictional requirement under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B) and *Bowles v. Russell*. As a practical consequence, the court ordered Hedrick to pay a $300 sanction for filing frivolous, repetitive, or abusive motions despite prior warnings and imposed a warning that future violations will result in progressively more severe sanctions, including dismissal of pleadings and restrictions on his ability to file in this court.

Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.