In re: Duane Letroy Berry

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 24-1433
In re: DUANE LETROY BERRY,
Petitioner.
On Petition for Writ of Mandamus to the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. (5:20-hc-02085-M)
Submitted: May 16, 2024 Decided: June 5, 2024
Before QUATTLEBAUM and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, Senior Circuit
Judge.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Duane Letroy Berry, Petitioner Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Duane Letroy Berry petitions for a writ of mandamus, seeking an order from this
court directing the clerk of the district court to close his civil commitment proceeding for
lack of jurisdiction. We conclude that Berry is not entitled to mandamus relief.
Mandamus relief is a drastic remedy and should be used only in extraordinary
circumstances. Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Ct., 542 U.S. 367, 380 (2004); In re Murphy-Brown,
LLC, 907 F.3d 788, 795 (4th Cir. 2018). Further, mandamus relief is available only when
the petitioner has a clear right to the relief sought and “has no other adequate means to
attain the relief [he] desires.” Murphy-Brown, 907 F.3d at 795 (cleaned up). Mandamus
may not be used as a substitute for appeal. In re Lockheed Martin Corp., 503 F.3d 351,
353 (4th Cir. 2007).
The relief sought by Berry is not available by way of mandamus. Accordingly, we
deny the petition for a writ of mandamus. We dispense with oral argument because the
facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
PETITION DENIED

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