Third Circuit disposition — 202319np-pdf

CLD-273 NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
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No. 20-2319
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IN RE: RAFAEL LORA,
Petitioner
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On a Petition for Writ of Mandamus from the
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
(Related to Cr. No. 3-16-cr-00091-002)
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Submitted Pursuant to Rule 21, Fed. R. App. P.
August 6, 2020
Before: JORDAN, KRAUSE and MATEY, Circuit Judges
(Opinion filed: August 19, 2020)
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OPINION*
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PER CURIAM
Pro se petitioner Rafael Lora has filed a petition for writ of mandamus requesting
that we direct the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to
rule on a number of motions he has filed in his criminal case. For the reasons detailed
below, we will deny the petition.
* This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.

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In 2016, Lora was charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute
cocaine and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. In May 2019, after lengthy pretrial
proceedings and about a month before the start of trial, Lora pleaded guilty to conspiring
to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. See ECF No. 243. The District Court accepted
the plea and ordered a presentence report. See ECF No. 247.
In September 2019, Lora filed a motion to discharge his counsel and to withdraw
the guilty plea. See ECF No. 263. He also filed several other pro se motions seeking
similar relief. See ECF Nos. 264–67. In January 2020, the District Court granted Lora’s
request to appoint new counsel and denied his pro se motions without prejudice to their
being refiled by new counsel. See ECF No. 268.
Notwithstanding the appointment of new counsel, Lora continued to file pro se
motions. He filed a motion to compel a response to a Freedom of Information Act request,
see ECF No. 271, a motion for pretrial release, see ECF No. 273, and a motion to quash
the indictment and withdraw his guilty plea, see ECF No. 274. On March 31, 2020, a
Magistrate Judge denied the motion for pretrial release on the ground that the motion was
required to be filed through counsel. See ECF No. 276.
Lora then filed a motion to dismiss his attorney and to proceed pro se, see ECF No.
278, and another motion for pretrial release, see ECF No. 279. On April 3, 2020, the
Magistrate Judge once more denied the motion for release because Lora, rather than his
attorney, had filed it. See ECF No. 280. Lora filed three more pro se motions, see ECF
Nos. 281–83, his counsel filed a motion to withdraw, see ECF No. 284, and Lora filed a

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notice of appeal to this Court as to the Magistrate Judge’s order denying his motion for
pretrial release, see ECF No. 285. On April 17, 2020, the Magistrate Judge held a hearing
on counsel’s motion to withdraw, and ultimately decided to hold the case in abeyance
during the pendency of Lora’s appeal. See ECF No. 290. Lora then resumed filing pro se
motions. See ECF Nos. 291–95, 297–99. On July 29, 2020, we dismissed Lora’s appeal
for lack of jurisdiction. See C.A. No. 20-1791.
Currently pending before us is Lora’s petition for a writ of mandamus. He asks us
to order the District Court to rule on his numerous pending motions.
Mandamus is a drastic remedy that is granted in only extraordinary cases. In re Diet
Drugs Prods. Liab. Litig., 418 F.3d 372, 378 (3d Cir. 2005). To demonstrate that
mandamus is appropriate, a petitioner must establish that he has “no other adequate means”
to obtain the relief requested and a “clear and indisputable” right to issuance of the writ.
Madden v. Myers, 102 F.3d 74, 79 (3d Cir. 1996). Because a district court has discretion
in managing the cases on its docket, see In re Fine Paper Antitrust Litig., 685 F.2d 810,
817 (3d Cir. 1982), mandamus relief is warranted only when a district court’s “undue delay
is tantamount to a failure to exercise jurisdiction,” Madden, 102 F.3d at 79.
Lora is not entitled to mandamus relief. As our account of the procedural history
above demonstrates, the District Court has been consistently ruling on Lora’s sundry
motions. While there has been some delay while the District Court waited for us to dispose
of Lora’s appeal, we have recently dismissed that appeal, and we are confident that the

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District Court will now rule on Lora’s motions in a timely manner. We therefore decline
to find that any delay in this case is “tantamount to a failure to exercise jurisdiction.” Id.
Accordingly, we will deny Lora’s mandamus petition.

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