Chase v. Hendricks

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 98-6963 WARREN CHASE, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus JACKY HENDRICKS, Classification Counselor; RICHARD WARREN; MR. ADAMS; DR. CATCHER; DR. ANAWAILLEY; MR. CRAIG; MR. PATTERSON; BOB CRAFT; R. BOND; DR. SHAPIRO; M. MUNGAI; DR. MEILLER; JOSEPH HENNEBERRY; ARCHIE GEE; ROBERT SPANGLER; THOMAS R. CORCORAN; SMITH, Assistant Warden; MRS. SORENSON; JOHN SWIVEL; MS. FAUNTLEROY; SWENDOLIN DUCKETT; MR. THEADWELL; RICHARD A. LANHAM, SR.; EUGENE M. NUTH; JACK KAVANAGH; JOSEPH ZBOZIEN, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore. Catherine C. Blake, District Judge. (CA- 97-2966-CCB) Submitted: September 10, 1998 Decided: November 10, 1998 Before MURNAGHAN, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Warren Chase, Appellant Pro Se. Wendy Ann Kronmiller, Assistant Attorney General, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 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)). Parties to civil actions have thirty days within which to file in the district court notices of appeal from judg- ments or final orders. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1). The only exceptions to the appeal period are when the district court extends the time to appeal under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5) or reopens the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). The district court entered its order disposing of the com- plaint on March 31, 1998. On May 2, 1998, Appellant filed a plead- ing construed by the court as a motion for reconsideration.* Be- cause it was filed more than ten days after the March 31 order, the motion did not toll the thirty-day appeal period in which to file a notice of appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(4). The district court denied the motion on May 18, 1998; Appellant’s notice of appeal was filed on June 25, 1998, which is beyond the thirty-day appeal period as to both the March 31 order and the May 18 order. Appel- * We presume for the purpose of this appeal that Appellant deposited this document and his subsequent notice on appeal in the prison’s internal mail system on the date the documents were prepared. See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988). 3 lant’s failure to note a timely appeal or to obtain an extension of the appeal period leaves this court without jurisdiction to con- sider the merits of Appellant’s appeal. We therefore dismiss the appeal. We deny Appellant’s motion for an injunction or a temporary restraining order. 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 4