Vang v. Valdese Weaver - Affirmed as Modified
Summary
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the Western District of North Carolina's dismissal of pro se appellant Pakuja Crystal Vang's civil action as frivolous and malicious, but modified the order to reflect dismissal without prejudice as to all claims except those against Valdese Weaver. The appellate court found Vang forfeited appellate review by failing to challenge the district court's reasoning in her informal brief. Vang's motion to transfer the case to the Supreme Court was denied.
“Because Vang's informal brief does not challenge the district court's reasons for dismissing her civil action, she has forfeited appellate review of the court's order.”
Pro se civil litigants in the Fourth Circuit should be aware that appellate review of district court dismissal orders is confined to issues raised in the informal brief, and failing to challenge the court's specific reasoning results in forfeiture. Pro se plaintiffs should ensure their appellate filings directly address each ground cited by the district court.
About this source
The Fourth Circuit hears federal appeals from district courts in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The court has historically had outsized influence on federal criminal procedure, qualified immunity doctrine, environmental regulation, and immigration enforcement, partly because its docket draws cases from EDVA, the so-called rocket docket that runs the country's fastest civil litigation. This feed tracks every published opinion as it appears on the court's official docket, around 250 a month. GovPing logs the case name, panel, type, and outcome. Watch this if you brief federal appeals in the mid-Atlantic, advise on Section 1983 claims, or follow the EDVA patent and trade secrets docket. Recent: a Baby Doe protective order appeal, a Fourth Amendment excessive force vacation in Nichols v Bumgarner.
What changed
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of Vang's civil action as frivolous and malicious but modified the order to reflect dismissal without prejudice for all claims except those against Valdese Weaver, consistent with the general rule that pro se complaints should not be dismissed with prejudice when the district court has not given the plaintiff opportunity to amend or explained why amendment would be futile.
Pro se litigants appealing civil actions must specifically challenge the district court's stated reasons for dismissal in their informal briefs to preserve appellate review; failure to do so results in forfeiture of the issue under Fourth Circuit Rule 34(b).
Archived snapshot
Apr 24, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 24-1815
PAKUJA CRYSTAL VANG, Plaintiff - Appellant,
VALDESE WEAVER; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, (government), Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger, Chief District Judge. (1:24-cv-00159-MR-WCM) Submitted: March 17, 2026 Decided: April 23, 2026 Before WYNN, HARRIS, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed as modified by unpublished per curiam opinion. Pakuja Crystal Vang, Appellant Pro Se. Sabrina Presnell Rockoff, MCGUIRE, WOOD & BISSETTE, PA, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM: Pakuja Crystal Vang appeals the district court's order dismissing with prejudice her pro se civil action as frivolous and malicious. On appeal, we confine our review to the 1 issues raised in the informal brief. See 4th Cir. R. 34(b). Because Vang's informal brief does not challenge the district court's reasons for dismissing her civil action, she has forfeited appellate review of the court's order. See Jackson v. Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170, 177 (4th Cir. 2014) ("The informal brief is an important document; under Fourth Circuit rules, our review is limited to issues preserved in that brief."). And even if Vang had not forfeited appellate review of that order, we would conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing Vang's civil action. See Nagy v. FMC Butner, 376 F.3d 252, 254-55 (4th Cir. 2004) (explaining standard of review for similar dismissal orders). Accordingly, we affirm the district court's dismissal order, Vang v. Valdese Weaver, No. 1:24-cv-00159-MR-WCM (W.D.N.C. July 31, 2024), as modified to reflect dismissal without prejudice as to all claims except for those against Valdese Weaver, see King v.
Rubenstein, 825 F.3d 206, 225 (4th Cir. 2016) (recognizing that dismissal of pro se
complaint generally should be without prejudice if district court did not give plaintiff We dispense with opportunity to amend nor discuss why amendment would be futile). 2
Vang has filed a motion to transfer this case to the Supreme Court of the United 1 States. (ECF No. 13). We deny the motion. The district court found that allowing Vang to amend her claims against Valdese 2 Weaver would be futile, but the court did not address the possibility of amendment as to Vang's remaining claims. 2
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.
AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED
Related changes
Get daily alerts for 4th Circuit Daily Opinions
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from 4th Circuit.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when 4th Circuit Daily Opinions publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.