United States v. Jeffrey Thomas Gola

Case: 16-15841 Date Filed: 10/11/2017 Page: 1 of 2 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 16-15841 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 2:13-cr-00114-WKW-WC-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JEFFREY THOMAS GOLA, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama ________________________ (October 11, 2017) Before MARCUS, WILLIAM PRYOR and FAY, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Jeffrey Gola appeals the denial of his motion for free transcripts. Gola moved for transcripts of his change of plea hearing and his sentencing hearing, Case: 16-15841 Date Filed: 10/11/2017 Page: 2 of 2 which he has since received. Because “it is impossible for [this] court to grant [Gola] any effectual relief,” United States v. Serrapio, 754 F.3d 1312, 1317 (11th Cir. 2014) (quoting Knox v. Serv. Emps. Int’l Union, Local 1000, 567 U.S. 298, 307 (2012)), we dismiss as moot that part of his appeal challenging the denial of trial transcripts. Gola also moved for a transcript of a hearing about his mental fitness to prepare a collateral challenge to his sentence, see 28 U.S.C. § 2255, but we cannot say that the denial of Gola’s motion was an abuse of discretion, see United States v. Quinn, 123 F.3d 1415, 1425 (11th Cir. 1997). Gola “is not entitled to obtain copies of court records at the government’s expense to search for possible defects merely because he is an indigent.” United States v. Herrera, 474 F.2d 1049, 1049 (5th Cir. 1973). Gola argues that the denial of the transcripts constitutes discrimination based on his mental disability, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12132, but Gola must present that issue in a civil action, not in a postjudgment motion in a criminal case. DISMISSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART. 2