UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 96-7340
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
WILLIAM LEWIS HINSON,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western Dis-
trict of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert D. Potter, Senior
District Judge. (CR-93-258-P)
Submitted: November 26, 1996 Decided: January 24, 1997
Before MURNAGHAN, HAMILTON, and LUTTIG, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
William Lewis Hinson, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Jack Higdon, Jr.,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Charlotte, North Carolina,
for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Appellant filed an untimely notice of appeal. We dismiss for
lack of jurisdiction. The time periods for filing notices of appeal
are governed by Fed. R. App. P. 4. These periods are "mandatory and
jurisdictional." Browder v. Director, Dep't of Corrections, 434
U.S. 257, 264 (1978) (quoting United States v. Robinson, 361 U.S.
220, 229 (1960)). In a criminal case, a defendant has ten days
within which to file in the district court notices of appeal from
judgments or final orders. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b). The district court
may, upon a showing of excusable neglect, extend by thirty days the
time for filing a notice of appeal. See United States v. Reyes, 759
F.2d 351, 353 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 857 (1985).
The district court entered its order on March 8, 1996; Appel-
lant's notice of appeal was filed on Sept. 5, 1996. Appellant's
failure to note an appeal within the ten-day appeal period and the
thirty-day permissible extension period leaves this court without
jurisdiction to consider the merits of Appellant's appeal. We
therefore dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument be-
cause the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in
the materials before the court and argument would not aid the deci-
sional process. We also deny Appellant's motion for appointment of
counsel.
DISMISSED
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