Background
Matthew Jason Hutton filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Fourth Circuit, claiming that the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina had unduly delayed acting on his motion to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence under Section twenty-eight U.S.C. two thousand two hundred fifty-five. He sought an order directing the district court to act on his motion.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s docket and found that the district court had since denied Hutton’s Section twenty-eight U.S.C. two thousand two hundred fifty-five motion. Because the district court had recently decided the case, the petition for mandamus was rendered moot. The court noted that unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
What it means going forward
The denial of the mandamus petition leaves the district court’s denial of the Section twenty-eight U.S.C. two thousand two hundred fifty-five motion in place, ending the petitioner’s attempt to force judicial action through the appellate court.