US v. Gerald Hopper - Supervised Release Revocation Appeal Dismissed Moot

4th Circuit Daily Opinions

Filed April 2nd, 2026

Detected April 3rd, 2026

Summary

The Fourth Circuit dismissed Gerald Damone Hopper's appeal of a supervised release revocation judgment as moot. The court found that his revocation sentence had expired and he failed to identify any collateral consequences flowing from the revocation. The district court case was 3:95-cr-00119-TAW-SCR-1 in the Western District of North Carolina.

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What changed

The Fourth Circuit issued a per curiam dismissal in No. 24-4381, finding that defendant Gerald Damone Hopper's appeal of his supervised release revocation became moot when his revocation sentence expired. The court rejected Hopper's arguments that the district court erred in denying his motions to quash an arrest warrant and to recuse the magistrate judge who issued the warrant, relying on United States v. Ketter, 908 F.3d 61 (4th Cir. 2018) and United States v. Hardy, 545 F.3d 280 (4th Cir. 2008).

For criminal defendants and practitioners, this decision confirms that supervised release revocation appeals may be dismissed as moot when the sentence has been served and no collateral consequences are demonstrated. The court noted it previously addressed the magistrate judge recusal issue in a related mandamus proceeding, In re Hopper, No. 24-1049 (4th Cir. Apr. 12, 2024), where any error was deemed harmless. No further action is required as this dismissal ends the appellate proceedings.

Source document (simplified)

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 24-4381

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee,

GERALD DAMONE HOPPER, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Max O. Cogburn, Jr., District Judge. (3:95-cr-00119-TAW-SCR-1) Submitted: March 19, 2026 Decided: April 2, 2026 Before WILKINSON, GREGORY, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: Roderick M. Wright, Jr., RODERICK WRIGHT LAW FIRM, PLLC,

Cornelius, North Carolina, for Appellant. Dena J. King, United States Attorney, Elizabeth

Greenough, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM: Gerald Damone Hopper seeks to appeal the district court's judgment revoking his supervised release. He argues that the district court erred in denying his motions to quash an arrest warrant and to recuse the magistrate judge who issued the warrant. Because * Hopper's revocation sentence has expired and he has not identified any collateral consequences flowing from his revocation judgment, we conclude that the appeal is moot.

United States v. Ketter, 908 F.3d 61, 65-66 (4th Cir. 2018); United States v. Hardy, 545

F.3d 280, 284-85 (4th Cir. 2008). Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal as moot. 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

We addressed these issues in a prior mandamus proceeding, where we concluded * that any error in the magistrate judge's failure to recuse was harmless. In re Hopper, No. 24-1049, 2024 WL 1596674 (4th Cir. Apr. 12, 2024). 2