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United States v. Tapia-Santana
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-7696
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
LAZARO TAPIA-SANTANA,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Fayetteville. W. Earl Britt, Senior District Judge. (CR-94-62-BR)
Submitted: April 15, 1999 Decided: April 19, 1999
Before NIEMEYER and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges, and PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Lazaro Tapia-Santana, Appellant Pro Se. Fenita Morris Shepard, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Lazaro Tapia-Santana appeals the district court’s order denying his motion petitioning the district court to order the Bureau of Prisons to stop collecting payments on his $25,000 criminal fine until after his release from prison. Appellant stated that his home was foreclosed upon and that he is a pauper and does not foresee obtaining funds to apply toward the fine. Appellant filed a similar motion seeking dismissal of the fine for the same reasons soon after his court entered the criminal judgment in 1994. The district court fully reviewed the merits of Appellant’s previous motion and denied dismissal or modification of the fine. We affirm the order appealed denying relief, because Appellant has previously litigated the issue; does not allege that the Bureau of Prisons is improperly collecting payments toward the fine, as ordered by the court; and has not shown extraordinary circumstances. Therefore the district court did not abuse its discretion. See United States v. Walker, 83 F.3d 94, 95 (4th Cir. 1996). 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.