2014 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

12-9-2014

In re: Darrel Riviere

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential

Docket No. 14-1477

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Recommended Citation

"In re: Darrel Riviere" (2014). 2014 Decisions. Paper 1228.

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RESUBMIT HLD-011 NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

____________

No. 14-1477

____________

IN RE: DARREL RIVIERE,

Petitioner

__________________________________

On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from 

the District Court of the Virgin Islands

(Related to D.C. Civ. No. 3-12-cv-00050) 

__________________________________

Submitted Pursuant to Fed. R. App. Pro. 21

October 1, 2014

Before: MCKEE, Chief Judge, GARTH and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges

(Opinion filed: December 9, 2014)

____________

OPINION

____________

PER CURIAM

In April 2012, Petitioner Darrel Riviere sent a request under the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, to the Director of the Virgin Islands High 

Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, a division of the Department of 

Justice (DOJ), seeking documents related to an alleged informant in his criminal case. 

Having received no response, Riviere filed suit in July 2012, in the District Court of the 

Virgin Islands, seeking an order compelling the agency to produce the documents. 
2

Subsequently, on September 28, 2012, the DOJ denied the FOIA request, citing certain 

exemptions related to records concerning a third party. In November 2012, Riviere 

appealed the denial of the FOIA request to the Office of Information Policy (OIP). The 

OIP promptly responded that it was unclear which action Riviere was appealing, and 

requested he provide further documentation regarding it. In December 2012, Riviere 

allegedly complied with the directive and forwarded all pertinent information, including 

his initial FOIA request, to the OIP. 

The OIP failed to respond to Riviere’s appeal; in response, in September 2013, 

and again in March 2014, Riviere filed motions with the District Court requesting it use 

its injunctive powers to order production of the documents. In February 2014, absent 

action in the District Court on his complaint, Riviere filed a petition for a writ of 

mandamus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1651 with this Court. In his petition, Riviere sought 

an order directing the District Court to use its injunctive powers to order the DOJ to 

comply with his FOIA request. Subsequently, in an order entered on June 20, 2014, the 

District Court dismissed Riviere’s complaint for failure to either pay the filing fee or to 

file a request to proceed in forma pauperis. Accordingly, because Riviere’s action is no 

longer pending in the District Court, the mandamus petition will be denied as moot.