Cooper v. Femi

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-7655 RICHARD D. COOPER, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. FEMI, Sergeant, CO3; JOHNSON, Corporal, CO2; MCDOWELL, Corporal, CO2; GOSS, Corporal, CO2; W.C.I. PROPERTY ROOM OFFICERS, 8-4 shift, 4-12 shift; JOHN P. GALLEY, Warden; COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTIONS; LIKIN, Corporal, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Benson Everett Legg, Chief District Judge. (1:07-cv-00272-BEL) Submitted: December 4, 2008 Decided: January 12, 2009 Before TRAXLER and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Richard D. Cooper, Appellant Pro Se. Phillip Michael Pickus, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MARYLAND, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Richard D. Cooper seeks to appeal the district court’s order granting summary judgment to the Defendants on his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000) action. 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 July 10, 2008. The notice of appeal was filed on August 14, 2008. * Because Cooper failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, we dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the * For the purpose 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. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988). 2 materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 3