UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 11-4094
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
ALEX ALONSO, a/k/a Adrian Gonzalez de la Torre,
Defendant – Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Columbia. Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., District
Judge. (3:08-cr-00993-JFA-2)
Submitted: September 13, 2011 Decided: September 21, 2011
Before DUNCAN, DAVIS, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James T. McBratney, III, MCBRATNEY LAW FIRM, PA, Florence, South
Carolina, for Appellant. Jane Barrett Taylor, Assistant United
States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Alex Alonso seeks to appeal his conviction and
sixty-month sentence following his guilty plea to one count of
possession with the intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more
of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)
(West 2006 & Supp. 2011). In criminal cases, a defendant must
file his notice of appeal within fourteen days after the entry
of judgment. 1 Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1)(A)(i). 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 the criminal judgment on
the docket on November 16, 2009. The notice of appeal was filed
on January 13, 2011. 2 Because Alonso failed to file a timely
notice of appeal or obtain an extension of the appeal period, we
1
At the time judgment was entered, the appeal period was
ten days. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1)(A)(i) (2008). On December 1,
2009, the period was extended to fourteen days. Fed. R. App. P.
4(b)(1)(A)(i) (2009). Alonso’s notice of appeal was untimely
under either period.
2
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 district court. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c); Houston v. Lack,
487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988).
2
dismiss the appeal. 3 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
3
We note that the appeal period in a criminal case is not a
jurisdictional provision, but rather a claim-processing rule.
Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 209-14 (2007); United States v.
Urutyan, 564 F.3d 679, 685 (4th Cir. 2009). Because Alonso’s
appeal is inordinately late, and its consideration is not in the
best interest of judicial economy, we exercise our inherent
power to dismiss it. United States v. Mitchell, 518 F.3d 740,
744, 750 (10th Cir. 2008).
3