UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 12-6652
WILLIAM RANDOLPH GRANDISON,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
HAROLD W. CLARKE,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond. Henry E. Hudson, District
Judge. (3:11-cv-00348-HEH)
Submitted: July 26, 2012 Decided: August 2, 2012
Before MOTZ, DAVIS, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
William Randolph Grandison, Appellant Pro Se. Virginia Bidwell
Theisen, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia,
for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
William Randolph Grandison seeks to appeal the
district court’s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254
(2000) petition. 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). “[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 February 24, 2012. The notice of appeal was filed on April
6, 2012. Because Grandison 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
*
Although the district court erroneously informed Grandison
that he had sixty — rather than thirty — days to appeal, we
cannot excuse his untimely filing under the unique circumstances
doctrine. Bowles, 551 U.S. at 214.
2
before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
DISMISSED
3