United States v. Williams

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 02-6951 HAYWOOD WILLIAMS, JR., Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Henry C. Morgan, Jr., District Judge. (CR-44-71-N) Submitted: September 20, 2002 Decided: October 10, 2002 Before LUTTIG, WILLIAMS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges. Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Haywood Williams, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 UNITED STATES v. WILLIAMS OPINION PER CURIAM: Haywood Williams, Jr., alleges that he filed a timely notice of appeal from the denial of his motion for release of his sealed medical records and his motion for reconsideration. However, the district court docket sheet reflects only the filing of a later letter from Wil- liams inquiring about his appeal. Because, under Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988), a notice of appeal is considered filed as of the date Williams delivered it to prison officials for mailing to the court, the district court docket sheet is not conclusive on this issue. Thus, we remand the case for the district court to determine whether Williams filed a timely notice of appeal. The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court for further consideration. REMANDED