Jamal Bullock v. Herbert Jackson

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-6534 JAMAL BULLOCK, Petitioner - Appellant, v. HERBERT JACKSON, Respondent - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Chief District Judge. (3:12-cv-00848-RJC) Submitted: May 23, 2013 Decided: May 29, 2013 Before MOTZ * and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Jamal Bullock, Appellant Pro Se. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. * Judge Motz did not participate in consideration of this case. The opinion is filed by a quorum of the panel pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 46(d). PER CURIAM: Jamal Bullock seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (2006) 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 January 14, 2013. The notice of appeal was filed, at the earliest, on March 19, 2013. * Because Bullock failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, we dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are * Although an inmate’s notice of appeal ordinarily is deemed filed on the date he delivered it to prison authorities for mailing to the court, Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988), Bullock’s notice of appeal does not indicate the date on which this occurred. We conclude, however, that the notice of appeal can be deemed filed no earlier than March 19, the date Bullock signed the document. 2 adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 3