Jones v. Director, Department of Corrections

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 06-6501 BRIAN K. JONES, Petitioner - Appellant, versus DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Leonie M. Brinkema, District Judge. (1:04-cv-01087-LMB) Submitted: August 25, 2006 Decided: September 5, 2006 Before WILLIAMS and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Brian K. Jones, Appellant Pro Se. Michael Thomas Judge, 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 Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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: Brian K. Jones seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2000) petition as an unauthorized successive petition. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not timely filed. Parties are accorded thirty days after the entry of the district court’s final judgment or order to note an appeal, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A), unless the district court extends the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5), or reopens the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). This appeal period is “mandatory and jurisdictional.” Browder v. Dir., Dep’t of Corr., 434 U.S. 257, 264 (1978) (quoting United States v. Robinson, 361 U.S. 220, 229 (1960)). The district court’s order was entered on the docket on May 2, 2005. The notice of appeal was executed on February 15, 2006. The district court improperly authorized Jones’ belated notice of appeal, as it was filed more than 180 days after the entry of the district court’s order. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6)(B). Because Jones failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to seasonably obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, we deny Jones’s motion for a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the - 2 - materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED - 3 -