Wallace v. United States
- P. Castel
- 1:20-cv-07134
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Wallace v. United States, Judge Castel denied counsel and default-judgment motions, ordered another opposition copy, and allowed a reply.
Timmy Wallace and the United States. The order addressed Wallace’s requests for appointed counsel and default judgment, along with briefing deadlines.
What happened
In Wallace v. United States, Timmy Wallace asked the court to vacate his sentence and requested counsel to help him prepare his reply.
Wallace also sought a default judgment, apparently because he had not received the government’s opposition memorandum. The court directed the government to mail him another copy within five days and gave him 30 days from the order to file a reply.
Judge Castel denied the request for counsel without prejudice and denied the motion for default judgment. The order did not decide Wallace’s request to vacate his sentence.
The detailed version
- Wallace v. United States · No. 1:20-cv-07134
- P. Castel
- Nov. 17, 2020
Background
Timmy Wallace petitioned the court to vacate his sentence. He asked the court to request that counsel represent him and help him file a reply. He also filed a motion for default judgment on November 13, 2020.
Counsel request
The court considered the relevant factors from an earlier Second Circuit decision concerning appointment of counsel. At this early stage, the court found that Wallace had not shown that counsel was necessary for a full examination of the issues. The court noted that it could reconsider the issue as the matter continued.
The court denied Wallace’s request for appointment of counsel without prejudice.
Default-judgment motion and deadlines
The court stated that Wallace appeared not to have received the government’s memorandum opposing his petition. It directed the government to mail another copy to Wallace within five days of the order. Wallace was given 30 days from the date of the order to file his reply.
The court denied Wallace’s motion for entry of default judgment and directed the clerk to terminate both motions. The order did not resolve the underlying petition to vacate Wallace’s sentence.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.