Sarah Flanders v. Commonwealth of Virginia ( 2023 )

USCA4 Appeal: 22-6941 Doc: 16 Filed: 03/21/2023 Pg: 1 of 2
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 22-6941
SARAH ELIZABETH FLANDERS,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Alexandria. Anthony John Trenga, Senior District Judge. (1:22-cv-00439-AJT-JFA)
Submitted: March 16, 2023 Decided: March 21, 2023
Before WILKINSON, AGEE, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Sarah Elizabeth Flanders, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 22-6941 Doc: 16 Filed: 03/21/2023 Pg: 2 of 2
PER CURIAM:
Sarah Elizabeth Flanders, a Virginia prisoner, appeals the district court’s order
dismissing without prejudice her 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for failure to comply with the
court’s prior order directing Flanders to either pay the $5 filing fee or apply to proceed in
forma pauperis. Shortly after entry of the district court’s dismissal order, Flanders paid the
filing fee. The district court subsequently reinstated Flanders’ § 2254 petition and directed
the Commonwealth to respond. See Flanders v. Virginia, No. 1:22-cv-00439-AJT-JFA
(E.D. Va., PACER No. 13). By virtue of this order, the district court effectively granted
Flanders the only relief she could have obtained by way of this appeal. Accordingly, we
dismiss this appeal as moot. See CVLR Performance Horses, Inc. v. Wynne, 792 F.3d 469,
474 (4th Cir. 2015) (“Litigation may become moot during the pendency of an appeal when
an intervening event makes it impossible for the court to grant effective relief to the
prevailing party.”). 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.
DISMISSED
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