Background
Baari’a Muhammad, proceeding pro se, filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Fourth Circuit. She alleged that the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina had unduly delayed acting on several motions in her civil action. She sought an order directing the district court to act on those motions.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s docket and found that the district court had dismissed Muhammad’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and denied all pending motions on January the twelfth, two thousand and twenty-six. Because the district court had already ruled on the motions that were the subject of the mandamus petition, the court determined that the petition was moot.
What it means going forward
The denial of the mandamus petition leaves the district court’s dismissal of the complaint and denial of motions in place. The case remains closed in the district court with no further action required by the appellate court.