United States v. Locklear

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 03-4759 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ERIC CHRISTOPHER LOCKLEAR, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. James C. Fox, Senior District Judge. (CR-03-32) Submitted: May 25, 2005 Decided: June 15, 2005 Before WILKINSON, MICHAEL, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Geoffrey Wuensch Hosford, HOSFORD & HOSFORD, Wilmington, North Carolina, for Appellant. Frank D. Whitney, United States Attorney, Anne M. Hayes, Christine Witcover Dean, Assistant United States Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Eric Christopher Locklear, a federal prisoner, seeks to appeal the district court’s judgment revoking supervised release and imposing a 24-month term of imprisonment. We conclude that Locklear’s notice of appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal in a criminal case must be filed within ten days of the entry of judgment being appealed. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1). The district court, upon a finding of excusable neglect or good cause, may extend the time period for filing a notice of appeal an additional thirty days. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4). The appeal periods established by Rule 4 are mandatory and jurisdictional. Browder v. Dir., Dep’t of Corr., 434 U.S. 257, 264 (1978); United States v. Raynor, 939 F.2d 191, 197 (4th Cir. 1991). Locklear’s judgment revoking supervised release and imposing a 24-month term of imprisonment was entered on July 24, 2003. He did not file a notice of appeal until, at the earliest, August 18, 2003, outside the ten-day appeal period. The district court found that Locklear did not show excusable neglect or good cause to excuse the late filing. Thus, Locklear’s appeal is untimely. Accordingly, we dismiss Locklear’s 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 -