UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-7667
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
DAVID SWIFT,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Richard C. Erwin, Senior
District Judge. (CR-89-235-G)
Submitted: January 16, 2003 Decided: January 27, 2003
Before WILLIAMS, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
David Swift, Appellant Pro Se. Anna Mills Wagoner, United States
Attorney, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
David Swift seeks to appeal his conviction for possession with
intent to distribute cocaine base. We dismiss the appeal for lack
of jurisdiction, because the notice of appeal was not timely filed.
In criminal cases, the defendant must file his notice of appeal
within ten days of entry of judgment. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1)(A).
This appeal period is “mandatory and jurisdictional.” Browder v.
Director, Dep’t of Corr., 434 U.S. 257, 264 (1978) (quoting United
States v. Robinson, 361 U.S. 220, 229 (1960)). Swift’s criminal
judgment was entered on the docket on September 20, 1990. The
notice of appeal was filed on October 20, 2002.* Because Swift
failed to file a timely notice of appeal, we dismiss the appeal.
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
*
For purposes of this appeal, we assume that the date
appearing on the notice of appeal is the earliest date it could
have been properly delivered to prison officials for mailing to the
court. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(c); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266
(1988).
2