US v. Leila Hector, No. 22-6599 (4th Cir. 2022)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 22-6599 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. LEILA VARETTA HECTOR, a/k/a Leila Varretta Hector, a/k/a Leila Varetta Hector-Dykes, a/k/a Rita Hector, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Big Stone Gap. James P. Jones, Senior District Judge. (2:18-cr-00003-JPJ-PMS-2) Submitted: June 29, 2022 Before MOTZ, AGEE, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Leila Varetta Hector, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. Decided: July 6, 2022 PER CURIAM: Leila Varetta Hector appeals from the district court’s order denying her motion to delay the date that Hector was required to report to the Bureau of Prisons to begin service of her 121-month sentence. * Upon review, we conclude that the instant appeal is moot. “The mootness doctrine is a limitation on federal judicial power grounded in the ‘case-or-controversy’ requirement of Article III of the U.S. Constitution.” United States v. Springer, 715 F.3d 535, 540 (4th Cir. 2013); see U.S. Const. art. III, § 2, cl. 1. “Mootness is a jurisdictional question and thus may be raised sua sponte by a federal court at any stage of proceedings.” Springer, 715 F.3d at 540. We lose jurisdiction over any portion of an appeal that becomes moot. Incumaa v. Ozmint, 507 F.3d 281, 285-86 (4th Cir. 2007). “If an event occurs while a case is pending on appeal that makes it impossible for the court to grant any effectual relief . . . to a prevailing party, the appeal must be dismissed.” Id. at 286 (cleaned up). We previously affirmed the district court’s denial of Hector’s motion for compassionate release “without prejudice to Hector filing a future motion for a sentence reduction once her incarceration commences.” United States v. Hector, No. 21-7551, 2022 WL 1641285, at *1 (4th Cir. May 24, 2022) (unpublished). The instant appeal concerns only the denial of Hector’s motion to extend her reporting date. * 2 Because Hector has begun to serve her sentence, her challenge to the district court’s order declining to stay her reporting date is moot. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 3
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