United States v. Hammond

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 01-8066 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus WILLIAM HAMMOND, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Richard L. Voorhees, District Judge. (CR-94-110) Submitted: March 21, 2002 Decided: March 28, 2002 Before NIEMEYER, WILLIAMS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. William Hammond, Appellant Pro Se. Brian Lee Whisler, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: In 1995, William M. Hammond was convicted of five counts related to attempting to blow up an automated teller machine. Following his 1996 sentencing, counsel appealed the conviction. This court affirmed. United States v. Hammond, No. 96-4231 (4th Cir. Feb. 11, 1997) (unpublished). In November 2001, Hammond filed a notice of appeal from these convictions. He contends that he never received a copy of the appellate briefs or of a decision by this court; therefore, he believes that counsel did not pursue the appeal. This court has already exercised its jurisdiction to review the final decision of the district court, 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1994), in ruling on Hammond’s direct appeal. 18 U.S.C.A. § 3742(a) (West 2000). Even if we had not, Hammond’s notice of appeal would be untimely. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b). The appeal periods defined in Rule 4 are “mandatory and jurisdictional.” Browder v. Director, Dep’t of Corrections, 434 U.S. 257, 264 (1978). Therefore, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. 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. DISMISSED 2