UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 09-6884
ISIAH JAMES, JR.,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
LEVERN COHEN,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Beaufort. Terry L. Wooten, District Judge.
(9:07-cv-04163)
Submitted: September 4, 2009 Decided: September 14, 2009
Before MOTZ and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Isiah James, Jr., Appellant Pro Se. Erin Mary Farrell, Daniel
Roy Settana, Jr., MCKAY, CAUTHEN, SETTANA & STUBLEY, PA,
Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Isiah James, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court’s
order accepting the recommendation of the magistrate judge and
dismissing his petition filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254
(2006). The district court entered its order on February 19,
2009. James filed his notice of appeal on May 7, 2009, at the
earliest. ∗ In his notice of appeal, James stated that he
received notice of the district court’s order on May 5, 2009,
and April 24, 2009.
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) (internal quotation marks and
citation omitted); see Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214
(2007).
James’ notice of appeal is clearly untimely. However,
under Rule 4(a)(6), the district court may reopen the time to
appeal. Because the record is unclear as to when James actually
received notice of the district court’s dismissal of his action,
∗
See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988).
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see Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6)(B), we remand this case to the
district court for the limited purpose of determining when James
received notice of the district court’s entry of its final order
and whether he is entitled to a reopening of the appeal period.
The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court
for further consideration.
REMANDED
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