United States v. Martin ( 2005 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-4390
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
LORENZO GRODE MARTIN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Big Stone Gap. Pamela Meade Sargent,
Magistrate Judge. (CR-02-2)
Submitted: September 19, 2005 Decided: October 20, 2005
Before NIEMEYER, WILLIAMS, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Lorenzo Grode Martin, Appellant Pro Se. Thomas Linn Eckert,
Assistant United States Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Lorenzo Grode Martin was convicted of criminal contempt
under 18 U.S.C.A. § 401(3) (West Supp. 2005), for violating a
preliminary injunction issued in a separate civil action. Martin
appeals, contending that his conviction is invalid because the
preliminary injunction subsequently was vacated for failure to
comply with Rule 65(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
However, absent circumstances not present in this case, the
invalidity of a permanent injunction is not a legitimate defense to
criminal contempt for violating the order imposing the injunction.
Walker v. City of Birmingham, 388 U.S. 307, 315 (1967); United
States v. United Mineworkers of Am., 330 U.S. 258, 293-94 (1947);
United States v. Emerson, 270 F.3d 203, 213 (5th Cir. 2003).
Accordingly, we affirm Martin’s conviction. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before the court and argument would not
aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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