Cooper v. Secretary of Department of Homeland Security

Background

Mokomo Cooper filed a petition seeking a writ of mandamus, a court order requiring a government official or agency to perform a duty. The matter came before the court on an August 27, 2018 report and recommendation from United States Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz. The recommendation stated that Cooper’s petition should be denied as moot and that the case should be dismissed without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. The opinion does not identify the event that allegedly made the petition moot.

The deadline for objections passed without any timely objections. The court noted that the clerk mailed the recommendation to Cooper’s last known address, but the Postal Service returned it as undeliverable. Cooper had not provided another address, and the court declined to delay its decision for that reason.

Ruling

When no timely objection is filed, the court reviews a magistrate judge’s recommendation for clear error. Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright reviewed the recommendation and found no clear error. The court therefore adopted the August 27, 2018 recommendation.

The order specifically: (1) adopted the recommendation; (2) denied Cooper’s petition for a writ of mandamus as moot; and (3) dismissed the action without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. The court directed that judgment be entered accordingly. The order did not decide the underlying legal issue that Cooper sought to present through the mandamus petition.