Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-arwd-2_16-cv-02037/USCOURTS-arwd-2_16-cv-02037-6/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

---

AARON FLEMONS 

V. 

JOHN DEVANE, et al. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

FORT SMITH DIVISION 

CASE NO. 2:16-CV-2037 

OPINION AND ORDER 

PLAINTIFF 

DEFENDANTS 

On July 16, 2024, an Order (Doc. 106) was entered denying Plaintiff Aaron 

Flemons's Fourth Motion to Reopen Case and Appoint Counsel (Doc. 105). Three 

months later, Mr. Flemons filed a Motion for Clarification (Doc. 107), inquiring whether 

any ruling had been made on his previous motion and stating that he had not received a 

copy of any such order in the mail. Mr. Flemons is currently incarcerated, and he noted 

"delays with legal mail at my unit." See id. at 1. The Court granted his Motion for 

Clarification on October 18, 2024, and directed the Clerk of the Court to mail Mr. Flemons 

a copy of the previous Order and a copy of the docket sheet. See Doc. 108. 

On December 2, 2024, Mr. Flemons filed the motion that is currently before the 

Court, which he has styled a Motion to File Belated Notice of Appeal (Doc. 109). He 

explains that he was unable to file a timely notice of appeal from the Order denying his 

Fourth Motion to Reopen Case and Appoint Counsel because he did not receive timely 

notice of that Order. See id. Therefore, he asks that his deadline for filing a notice of 

appeal be extended. 

Mr. Flemons's deadline to file a notice of appeal has of course long expired, see 

Fed . R. App. P. 4(a)(1 ), as has his deadline to move for an extension of time to appeal, 

see id. at 4(a)(5)(A). However, the Federal Rules authorize this Court to "reopen the time 

1 

Case 2:16-cv-02037-TLB Document 110 Filed 12/06/24 Page 1 of 3 PageID #:

<pageID>
to file an appeal for a period of 14 days after" today, if it finds that each of the following 

three conditions is met: (1) that Mr. Flemons did not receive notice of the order from which 

he seeks an appeal within 21 days after its entry; (2) that Mr. Flemons's instant motion 

was filed within 14 days after he ultimately received such notice; and (3) that no party 

would be prejudiced by reopening the time for him to file an appeal. See id. at 4(a)(6). 

All three conditions are satisfied here. The first and third are obviously so from the 

discussion provided above, but the second requires some explanation. Mr. Flemons 

states that he received notice of the prior Order "on or around November 8, 2024," which 

was a Friday. See Doc. 109, ,r 4. However, Mr. Flemons drafted his instant Motion fifteen 

days later, on Saturday, November 23, 2024, see id. at p. 2; and it was postmarked on 

Tuesday, November 26, 2024, see id. at p. 4. So it may appear at first glance that his 

motion was untimely under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). However, because he received notice 

of the prior Order through the mail, three days must be added to the period within which 

he was required to file the instant motion. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(d). Therefore, his deadline 

to file the instant motion was actually Monday, November 25, 2024. His motion includes 

a signed and sworn declaration that he placed it "in the hands of [the prison] officials for 

mailing" to this Court on Sunday November 24, see Doc. 109, p. 2, and it was mailed to 

this Court in an envelope bearing a postmark showing that first-class postage was paid, 

see id at p. 4. Therefore, Mr. Flemons may benefit from the "prison mailbox rule," under 

which his motion "is deemed filed upon deposit in the prison mail system prior to the 

expiration of the filing deadline." See United States v. Harrison, 469 F.3d 1216, 1217 (8th 

Cir. 2006); see also Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1)(A). 

2 

Case 2:16-cv-02037-TLB Document 110 Filed 12/06/24 Page 2 of 3 PageID #:

<pageID>
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff Aaron Flemons's Motion to File 

Belated Notice of Appeal (Doc. 109) is GRANTED, and his deadline to file a notice of 

appeal from this Court's prior Order denying his Fourth Motion to Reopen Case and 

Appoint Counsel is extended to December 20, 2024, which is fourteen days from the date 

of this instant Order's filing. /Ct 

IT IS SO ORDERED on this b day of Decemb 

3 

Case 2:16-cv-02037-TLB Document 110 Filed 12/06/24 Page 3 of 3 PageID #:

<pageID>