BLD-273 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 14-2100
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IN RE: STEVEN ALLEN SCHWARTZ,
Petitioner
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On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
(Related to E.D. Pa. No. 2:03-cr-00035-001)
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Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R. App. P.
June 5, 2014
Before: AMBRO, CHAGARES and VANASKIE, Circuit Judges
(Filed: June 10, 2014)
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OPINION
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PER CURIAM
Federal prisoner Steven Allen Schwartz, proceeding pro se, petitions for a writ of
mandamus directing the United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania to take certain action in connection with the above-referenced criminal
case. For the reasons that follow, we will deny the petition.
I.
In 2005, the District Court sentenced Schwartz to 225 months’ imprisonment and
ordered that he pay over $1.3 million in restitution following his conviction for a host of
fraud-related offenses. We affirmed that judgment on direct appeal, see United States v.
Schwartz, 315 F. App’x 412, 415, 420 (3d Cir. 2009), and the United States Supreme
Court denied certiorari. Thereafter, Schwartz moved the District Court to vacate, set
aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. The District Court denied
§ 2255 relief, and we subsequently denied Schwartz’s request for a certificate of
appealability. See C.A. No. 13-2131. He then moved this Court to (1) extend the time to
file a petition for rehearing in that case, and (2) enter a stay in that case pending our en
banc decision in United States v. Flores-Mejia, C.A. No. 12-3149. We granted those two
requests in January 2014, and that case remains stayed.
On or about April 16, 2014, Schwartz sent a letter to the District Court, seeking an
ex parte telephone hearing “to assist in the [c]ourt’s obtaining custody and control of
[certain] documentary evidence” relating to his criminal case that allegedly was never
turned over by the Government. Schwartz maintained that “[w]e need to get this
evidence in the custody and control of the [c]ourt and then sort out the various acts of
obstruction of justice and Brady violations once the evidence is secured.” On April 22,
2014, the District Court, construing this latest request “as a new application for
permission to file a second or successive § 2255 motion,” denied that request without
prejudice to Schwartz’s ability to seek such permission in this Court.
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Schwartz now petitions this Court for a writ of mandamus, arguing that the
District Court’s April 22, 2014 order “is fraught with legal error,” and that the District
Court should be directed “to convene a prompt hearing and take all steps necessary to
take custody and control of [the aforementioned] evidence.”
II.
A writ of mandamus is a drastic remedy that is available in extraordinary
circumstances only. See In re Diet Drugs Prods. Liab. Litig., 418 F.3d 372, 378 (3d Cir.
2005). To obtain mandamus relief, a petitioner must establish that “(1) no other adequate
means exist to attain the relief he desires, (2) the party’s right to issuance of the writ is
clear and indisputable, and (3) the writ is appropriate under the circumstances.”
Hollingsworth v. Perry, 558 U.S. 183, 190 (2010) (per curiam) (internal quotation marks
omitted). Mandamus is not a substitute for an appeal, and “a writ of mandamus may not
issue if a petitioner can obtain relief by appeal.” Madden v. Myers, 102 F.3d 74, 77 (3d
Cir. 1996).
Schwartz’s mandamus petition effectively argues that the District Court should
have held the ex parte hearing that he requested instead of treating his request as seeking
permission to file a second or successive § 2255 motion. But an appeal from the District
Court’s April 22, 2014 order provides an adequate means of potentially obtaining relief
on that argument.1 Furthermore, although Schwartz claims that the alleged evidence at
1
In making this statement, we in no way decide whether that argument would, in fact,
prevail.
3
issue here “face[s] spoliation,” he does not provide support for that claim. In short, we
cannot conclude that this case presents extraordinary circumstances warranting
mandamus relief. Accordingly, we will deny Schwartz’s mandamus petition.
4