Are Allegations of Misconduct Reviewable on Appeal?

Judge Donald L. Graham

A US Circuit Judge On the Potential Dangers of Unpublished Opinions

“If, for example, a precedent is cited, and the other side then offers a distinction, and the judges on the panel cannot think of a good answer to the distinction, but nevertheless, for some extraneous reason, wish to reject it, they can easily do so through the device of an abbreviated, unpublished opinion, and no one will ever be the wiser. (I don’t say that judges are actually doing this–only that the temptation exists.) Or if, after hearing argument, a judge in conference thinks that a certain decision should be reached, but also believes that the decision is hard to justify under the law, he or she can achieve the result, assuming agreement by the other members of the panel, by deciding the case in an unpublished opinion and sweeping the difficulties under the rug. Again, I’m not saying that this has ever occurred in any particular case, but a system that encourages this sort of behavior, or is at least open to it, has to be subject to question in any world in which judges are human beings.” 1 J. App. Prac. & Process 219 (1999). UNPUBLISHED OPINIONS: A COMMENT, Richard S. Arnold, Copyright © 1999 University of Arkansas – Little Rock School of Law ; Richard S. Arnold

The Meaningless Appeal

Marcellus Mason filed appellate briefs with the Eleventh Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals, in two separate cases, 01-13364 and 01-15754, accusing U.S. Dist. Judge Donald L. Graham of the following misconduct and mismanagement:

• Lying and intentionally misrepresenting the law.
• Refusing to rule on a motion for a preliminary injunction that had been pending for about 19 months.
• Usurping legal authority by allowing a Federal Magistrate Judge, Frank Lynch Jr., to render an injunction in clear violation of law and 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(A) which clearly states:
  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary-(A) a judge may designate a magistrate judge to hear and determine any pretrial matter pending before the court except a motion for injunction relief,…”
• Usurping legal authority by allowing a Federal Magistrate Judge, Frank Lynch Jr., to render an injunction to prohibit lawful and protected out of court communication between a citizen and his government.
• Usurping legal authority by allowing a Federal Magistrate Judge, Frank Lynch Jr., to render an injunction placing restrictions on how public records are accessed under the Florida Public Records Act that the State of Florida does not allow. Judge Graham has refused to state where a federal judge gets the legal authority to administer public records under the Florida Public Records Act.
• Allowing scores of significant pre-trial motions to go undecided for months without taking any action.
• Involved in possible criminal behavior by issuing a void sua sponte pre-filing injunction or vexatious litigant injunction which ultimately formed the basis of a criminal contempt complaint and conviction. See Framing An Innocent Person.

In an unpublished opinion, [Case No. 01-13664] the Eleventh Circuit, Judges Stanley F. Birch, Jr., Susan H. Black, and Stanley Marcus have expressly stated that allegations of judicial misconduct are not reviewable on appeal. Theses allegations were not tested for veracity they were simply ignored. Specifically, in the opinion rendered on October 16, 2002, Judges Stanley F. Birch, Jr., Susan H. Black, and Stanley Marcus asserted:

“Mason also raises issues that relate to non-sanction matters, e.g., .. the denial of his motions to disqualify the district court and magistrate judges…”

See Opinion, page 10. This is the sum total of appellate review as to whether Judge Donald L. Graham should have been disqualified due to misconduct. There is absolutely no discussion as to whether the allegations of misconduct are true or not.

Similarly, a petition for mandamus [Case No. 01-15754] was submitted to the Eleventh Circuit on or about October 2, 2001. This petition accused Judge Graham of misconduct. The Eleventh Circuit, Judges Rosemary Barkett, Jr., Susan H. Black, and Stanley Marcus, simply ignored the allegations of misconduct by stating only the following in a one sentence unpublished “opinion” :

The ” petition for writ of mandamus and petition for writ of prohibition” is DENIED.

mmason.freeshell.org/15754/mandamus_denied.pdf .

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References
Case No. 01-13664 Appellant’s Brief

Case No. 01-15754 Mandamus Petition

Tags: allegations of misconduct, Appellate Review, clear violation, complaint, conviction, criminal contempt, Eleventh Circuit, Federal Magistrate Judge, Florida Public Records Act, framing, Frank Lynch Jr., injunction, intentionally misrepresenting the law, Judge Donald L. Graham, Judge Stanley F. Birch Jr., Judicial Misconduct, Lying, misconduct, Mismanagement, motions to disqualify, petition for mandamus, pre-filing injunction, prohibit, Stanley Marcus, sua sponte, Susan H. Black, U.S. Court of Appeals, U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(A), Usurping legal authority, Vexatious Litigant, void