United States v. Eric Bradley

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 21-7058 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. ERIC SHAWN BRADLEY, a/k/a E, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., Senior District Judge. (3:14-cr-00240-JFA-1) Submitted: January 20, 2022 Decided: January 25, 2022 Before WILKINSON, DIAZ, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Eric Shawn Bradley, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Eric Shawn Bradley appeals from the district court’s order denying his motion to correct a clerical error in the judgment, filed pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 36. In his Rule 36 motion, Bradley sought resentencing due to alleged errors in his presentence report, such as the imposition of an enhancement, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851, and the miscalculation of his criminal history points. The district court issued an order notifying Bradley of its intent to recharacterize his motion as a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion in accordance with Castro v. United States, 540 U.S. 375, 383 (2003), and gave him 30 days to withdraw or amend his motion, or file objections to the court’s order. Bradley objected to the recharacterization of his motion. Accordingly, the district court treated the motion as one under Rule 36, found that the errors Bradley cited were not clerical errors, and denied the motion. On appeal, we confine our review to the issues raised in the informal brief. See 4th Cir. R. 34(b). Bradley argues that the district court should have recharacterized his motion as a § 2255 motion over his objection. However, the district court was not permitted to recharacterize the motion over Bradley’s objection. See United States v. Emmanuel, 288 F.3d 644, 649 (4th Cir. 2002) (stating that if the movant “does not agree to have the motion recharacterized, the court shall not treat it as a § 2255 motion but shall rule on the merits of the motion as filed”). Bradley’s informal brief does not challenge the basis for the district court’s disposition. Therefore, he has forfeited appellate review of the court’s order. See Jackson v. Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170, 177 (4th Cir. 2014) (“The informal brief is 2 an important document; under Fourth Circuit rules, our review is limited to issues preserved in that brief.”). Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. 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. AFFIRMED 3