In Re: Burt v.

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-501
In Re: LISA BURT, c/o Darrell Burns, minor
son,
Petitioner.
On Petition for Writ of Mandamus. (CA-97-3416-CCB)
Submitted: February 17, 1998 Decided: March 17, 1998
Before LUTTIG, HAMILTON, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.
Petition denied by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Lisa Burt, Petitioner Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Lisa Burt, acting on behalf of her minor son Darrell Burns,
has filed a petition for a writ of mandamus ordering the district
court to issue her a default judgment in a civil rights action she
filed against various members of the Denton Sheriff's Department.
Mandamus is a drastic remedy to be used only in extraordinary cir-
cumstances. See Kerr v. United States Dist. Court, 426 U.S. 394,
402 (1976). Mandamus relief is only available when there are no
other means by which the relief sought could be granted, see In re
Beard, 811 F.2d 818, 826 (4th Cir. 1987), and may not be used as a
substitute for appeal. See In re United Steelworkers, 595 F.2d 958,
960 (4th Cir. 1979). The party seeking mandamus relief carries the
heavy burden of showing that she has "no other adequate means to
attain the relief [she] desires" and that her right to such relief
is "clear and indisputable." Allied Chem. Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc.,
449 U.S. 33, 35 (1980). Burt has not made such a showing. Accord-
ingly, although we grant Burt's motion to proceed in forma pau-
peris, we deny her motion to expedite and deny mandamus relief. 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.
PETITION DENIED
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