United States v. Joseph Belcik

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 16-17558
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 8:15-mc-00002-SDM-MAP
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JOSEPH BELCIK,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
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(October 16, 2017)
Before TJOFLAT, HULL and WILSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Joseph Belcik, proceeding pro se, appeals from the district court’s
November 18, 2016, order revoking his bail and issuing a warrant for his arrest for
violating court orders, failing to appear for a show cause hearing, and violating the
conditions of his release. Belcik is currently a fugitive from that order.
“The United States Supreme Court has long recognized an appellate court’s
ability to exercise its discretion by refusing to hear or to decide the appeal of a
fugitive from justice.” United States v. Barnette, 129 F.3d 1179, 1183 (11th Cir.
1997) (citing Ortega–Rodriguez v. United States, 507 U.S. 234 (1993); Molinaro v.
New Jersey, 396 U.S. 365 (1970)). The fugitive disentitlement doctrine applies
where an appellant is a fugitive and his status as such has a connection, or nexus,
to his appeal. Id. In Barnette, we dismissed an appeal under the doctrine where
the appellants from a civil contempt order had repeatedly defied court orders and
evaded arrest. Id. at 1182–83. We held that the appellants’ avoidance of court
orders and contempt sanctions rendered them fugitives. Id. at 1183. We
determined that their appeal had the requisite nexus to their fugitive status because
they had effectively stayed contempt judgments against them by violating district
court orders. Id. We reasoned that the appellants were unlikely to abide by any
judgment other than one favorable to them and declined to hear their appeal, as
“[h]e who offends against the law seeks in vain the help of the law.” Id. at 1184
(quotation omitted).
Here, dismissal of Belcik’s appeal under the fugitive disentitlement doctrine
is appropriate. It is undisputed that Belcik violated at least three district court
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orders. The government argues that Belcik is a fugitive and that the district court’s
bench warrant for his arrest remains outstanding, and there is currently no
information to the contrary. Furthermore, his appeal has the requisite nexus to his
fugitive status because, like the appellants in Barnette, he has effectively stayed the
district court’s sanctions against him by evading court orders and would
presumably submit only to an appellate ruling in his favor. 129 F.3d at 1183–84.
Thus, we decline to participate in Belcik’s flouting of district court orders, and we
dismiss his appeal.
DISMISSED.
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