UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-6267
GARRY DARNELL SAUNDERS,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
PORTSMOUTH CITY JAIL, Sheriff,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. T. S. Ellis III, District
Judge. (CA-04-175)
Submitted: July 14, 2005 Decided: July 22, 2005
Before WILKINSON, LUTTIG, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Garry Darnell Saunders, Appellant Pro Se. Eugene Paul Murphy,
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF VIRGINIA, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Garry Darnell Saunders, a Virginia inmate, seeks to
appeal the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000)
petition and his subsequent motion to reconsider. We conclude
Saunders’ notice of appeal is untimely. A notice of appeal in a
civil case must be filed within thirty days of the entry of the
judgment being appealed. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(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(a)(5). 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).
The district court denied Saunders’ § 2254 petition by
order entered on July 7, 2004. His subsequent motion for
reconsideration was denied by order entered on September 30, 2004.
He did not file a notice of appeal until February 2005, over four
months later, and never sought an extension of time in the district
court. Thus, Saunders’ notice of appeal is clearly untimely.
Accordingly, we deny Saunders’ motion for appointment of counsel
and dismiss his 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.
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DISMISSED
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