2011 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

7-20-2011

In Re: Marcus Wallace

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential

Docket No. 11-1509

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Recommended Citation

"In Re: Marcus Wallace " (2011). 2011 Decisions. Paper 840.

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DLD-146 NOT PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

___________

No. 11-1509

___________

IN RE: MARCUS L. WALLACE,

Petitioner

____________________________________

On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the 

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

(Related to M.D. Pa. Civ. No. 3-10-cv-01309)

____________________________________

Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R. App. P.

March 24, 2011

Before: BARRY, FISHER AND ROTH, Circuit Judges

(Opinion filed: July 20, 2011)

_________

OPINION

_________

PER CURIAM

Petitioner, Marcus Wallace, is currently awaiting trial in the Court of Common 

Pleas of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on charges of first and second degree murder, 

aggravated assault, criminal mischief, and related charges. In June 2010, Wallace filed a 

pro se habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the District Court. After filing his 

habeas petition, Wallace also filed various motions in the District Court related to pretrial 

proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas. The Magistrate Judge issued a Report 
2

recommending that Wallace’s habeas petition be dismissed because he had not exhausted 

state court remedies. After rejecting Wallace’s objections, the District Court adopted the 

Magistrate Judge’s Report, and also intimated that it could properly invoke Younger

abstention. Wallace then sought a certificate of appealability from this Court, which we 

denied. In addition, Wallace filed various post-judgment motions in the District Court, 

which the District Court has not yet ruled on. On February 28, 2011, Wallace filed this 

pro se mandamus petition, as well as a motion in support thereof.

It is not entirely clear from Wallace’s petition what exactly he seeks to compel the 

District Court to rule on. In the petition, Wallace asserts that the forensic scientist who 

analyzed the DNA evidence in his case was misidentified by a witness. Accordingly,

Wallace argues, he is entitled to have the charges against him dismissed. Wallace 

challenged the identification of the forensic scientist in some of his pre-judgment motions 

related to his habeas petition, and the District Court dismissed those motions without 

prejudice. To the extent that Wallace seeks to compel the District Court to rule on any 

claims raised in those motions, his request is moot because the District Court already 

ruled on the claims. 

Wallace also raised similar issues related to the forensic scientist’s identification 

in his “petition for review,” which he filed after the District Court dismissed Wallace’s 

habeas petition. To the extent that Wallace seeks to compel the District Court to rule on 

his petition for review, we conclude that mandamus is not appropriate. 
3

Mandamus is a drastic remedy available in only the most extraordinary 

circumstances. In re Diet Drugs Prods. Liab. Litig., 418 F.3d 372, 378 (3d Cir. 2005). 

“A petitioner seeking the issuance of a writ of mandamus must have no other adequate 

means to obtain the desired relief, and must show that the right to issuance is clear and 

indisputable.” Madden v. Myers, 102 F.3d 74, 79 (3d Cir. 1996). In addition, as a 

general rule, the manner in which a court disposes of cases on its docket is within its 

discretion. See In re Fine Paper Antitrust Litig., 685 F.2d 810, 817 (3d Cir. 1982). 

Nonetheless, mandamus may be warranted when a district court’s “undue delay is 

tantamount to a failure to exercise jurisdiction.” Madden, 102 F.3d at 79. The District 

Court’s delay in this case, however, does not meet that standard. Wallace filed his 

petition for review on January 12, 2011. Only about a month and a half passed between 

the time Wallace filed his petition for review and his mandamus petition, which he filed 

on February 28, 2011. Moreover, considering that Wallace’s state case is still ongoing

and that the District Court already dismissed Wallace’s pre-judgment motions asserting 

arguments related to those in his petition for review, it is understandable that the District 

Court may be proceeding with caution. We cannot say that the delay in adjudicating 

Wallace’s petition for review is “tantamount to a failure to exercise jurisdiction” or 

“rise[s] to the level of a denial of due process.” Id.

To the extent that Wallace asks us to compel the District Court to grant his postjudgment petition for review (rather than simply rule on it), he has not demonstrated that 

he has “no other adequate means to obtain the desired relief.” Id. The District Court still 
4

has time in which to rule on the petition for review, and if and when the District Court 

denies it, Wallace is free to challenge such action via direct appeal. See In re Chambers 

Dev. Co., 148 F.3d 214, 223 (3d Cir. 1998) (“[A] writ of mandamus should not be issued 

where relief may be obtained through an ordinary appeal.”).

For the foregoing reasons, the petition for a writ of mandamus will be dismissed. 

In reaching our decision, we also considered Wallace’s motion accompanying his petition 

for a writ of mandamus, and now dismiss the motion along with his petition.