United States v. Justice

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 06-7774 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ARTHUR GRAHAM JUSTICE, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Bluefield. David A. Faber, Chief District Judge. (1:01-cr-00234; 1:04-cv-00447) Submitted: March 22, 2007 Decided: March 28, 2007 Before WIDENER and WILKINSON, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Arthur Graham Justice, Appellant Pro Se. Michael Lee Keller, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Arthur Graham Justice seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and denying his motion for reduction of sentence under 18 U.S.C.A. § 3582 (West 2000 & Supp. 2005). In criminal cases, the defendant must file the notice of appeal within ten days after the entry of judgment. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1)(A); see United States v. Alvarez, 210 F.3d 309, 310 (5th Cir. 2000) (holding that § 3582 proceeding is criminal in nature and ten-day appeal period applies). With or without a motion, upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause, the district court may grant an extension of up to thirty days to file a notice of appeal. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4); United States v. Reyes, 759 F.2d 351, 353 (4th Cir. 1985). The district court entered its order denying the motion for reduction of sentence on June 29, 2006. The notice of appeal was filed on October 12, 2006. Because Justice failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to obtain an extension of the appeal period, we dismiss the appeal. We deny Justice’s motion for bail pending 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 - 2 -