Billy Grisso v. Kenneth Apfel

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Billy Grisso appeals from the final judgment entered in the District Court 2 for the Eastern District of Missouri granting him mandamus relief but denying him costs. For reversal, Grisso argues that he was the prevailing party because the district court exercised its mandamus jurisdiction, and that the district court therefore abused its discretion in denying him costs. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

The relevant facts are as follows. In September 1997 Grisso, a state prisoner from 1983 to 1994, petitioned for a writ of…