Opinion
No. 06-31047 Summary Calendar.
March 7, 2007.
Maureen Greene, St. Martinville, LA, pro se.
John Fayne Wilkes, III, Borne Wilkes, Lafayette, LA, for Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, No. 6.-05-CV-1954.
Before SMITH, WIENER, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
Maureen Greene, a vexatious pro se litigant, appeals an order dated September 28, 2006, that grants conditional sanctions for her conduct in this litigation. Greene also appeals the district court's refusal to recuse. And finally, Greene moves for preparation of a transcript at government expense.
It is evident that Greene has badly abused the judicial process, as the district court found. She declined to participate in discovery, and she made scandalous allegations against various officials in this and other courts. The district court levied sanctions, but those sanctions are not payable unless and until Greene "files a suit or cause of action in this court or in the state courts of Louisiana arising out of the same operative facts as this suit. . . ."
The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing these sanctions, which are entirely appropriate. The judgment is AFFIRMED. Greene is warned that this court can impose sanctions sua sponte for vexatious and frivolous appeals. See Coghlan v. Starkey, 852 F.2d 806 (5th Cir. 1988) (per curiam). Such sanctions are warranted here, but the court hereby exercises its discretion not to take such action at this time. The motion for a transcript at government expense is DENIED. Greene cannot raise, at this time, the recusal of the district judge, because she never sought recusal in the district court.