Rehearing granted, January 13, 2010
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-1342
ALFRED T. THOMAS,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
CHRISTY T. MANN, Judge; MECKLENBURG COUNTY GENERAL DISTRICT
& CIRCUIT COURTS; MCDOWELL STREET CENTER FOR FAMILY LAW,
INCORPORATED; DONNA JACKSON; AIDA CORREA; PETER GORMAN;
JAMES G. MIDDLEBROOKS; GRAHAM C. MULLEN; NORTH CAROLINA,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Frank D. Whitney,
District Judge. (3:08-cv-00502-FDW-1)
Submitted: July 23, 2009 Decided: July 27, 2009
Before WILKINSON and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Alfred T. Thomas, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Alfred T. Thomas seeks to appeal the district court’s
order dismissing his civil rights complaint. 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)); accord Bowles v. Russell,
551 U.S. 205, ___, 127 S. Ct. 2360, 2366 (2007) (“Today we make
clear that the timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil
case is a jurisdictional requirement.”).
The district court’s order was entered on the docket
on January 23, 2009. The notice of appeal was filed on March
20, 2009. Because Thomas failed to file a timely notice of
appeal or to obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal
period, we deny leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss
the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts
and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
2
before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
DISMISSED
3