Owens v. Warden Perry Correctional Institution

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 16-6787 WILLIAM ALLEN OWENS, Petitioner - Appellant, v. WARDEN PERRY CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, Respondent - Appellee, and SOUTH CAROLINA, State of, Respondent. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Orangeburg. R. Bryan Harwell, District Judge. (5:14-cv-03685-RBH) Submitted: September 29, 2016 Decided: October 4, 2016 Before SHEDD, KEENAN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. William Allen Owens, Appellant Pro Se. Donald John Zelenka, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: William Allen Owens seeks to appeal the district court’s order adopting the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and dismissing Owens’ 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2012) petition. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not timely filed. Parties are accorded 30 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). “[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement.” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007). The district court’s order was entered on the docket on June 23, 2015. The notice of appeal was filed on June 7, 2016. Because Owens 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 before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 2