US v. Hobart Barrett, Jr.

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:07-hc-2097-FL-JG Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999007465]. Mailed to: Hobart Barrett. [11-7655]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 11-7655

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Petitioner - Appellee,
v.
HOBART J. BARRETT, JR.,
Respondent - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
Louise W. Flanagan,
District Judge; Bernard A. Friedman, Senior District Judge,
sitting by designation. (5:07-hc-02097-FL-JG)

Submitted:

December 10, 2012

Decided:

December 20, 2012

Before MOTZ, KING, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Lewis A. Thompson, III, BANZET, THOMPSON & STYERS, PLLC,
Warrenton, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Thomas G. Walker,
United States Attorney, Jennifer P. May-Parker, W. Ellis Boyle,
Assistant United States Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Hobart J. Barrett, Jr., appeals the district court’s
order of civil commitment upon finding him a sexually dangerous
person.
abused

On appeal, Barrett contends that the district court
its

discretion

in

denying

the

motion

to

withdraw

an

examiner’s report and that the district court’s then-applicable
standing order * conflicted with the civil commitment statutes,
depriving him of due process.

Finding no error, we affirm.

In a civil commitment proceeding, “the court may order
that a psychiatric or psychological examination of the defendant
be conducted, and that a psychiatric or psychological report be
filed with the court.”

18 U.S.C. § 4248 (2006).

The examiner

must be designated by the court; however, the respondent in a
§ 4248 proceeding may select an additional examiner.
§ 4247(b) (2006).

The examiner or examiners so designated must

prepare reports to be filed with the district court.
§ 4247(c).

18 U.S.C.

18 U.S.C.

Section 4247 does not provide for the withdrawal of

examiners or their reports.

With the above statutes in mind, we

conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in
denying Barrett’s motion to withdraw an examiner’s report.
United

States

v.

Basham,

561

F.3d

*

302,

325

(4th

Cir.

See
2009)

The standing order has since been superseded by a revised
standing order.

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(reviewing

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evidentiary

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rulings

for

abuse

of

discretion).

Additionally, we conclude that the district court did not err in
finding that the then-applicable standing order did not directly
conflict

with

the

process

set

out

in

§§ 4247

and

4248

for

designating examiners.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
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.
AFFIRMED

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