Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-15-06130/USCOURTS-ca10-15-06130-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jackie Lee Chambers
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

_________________________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

 Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

JACKIE LEE CHAMBERS, 

 Defendant - Appellant.

No. 15-6130

(D.C. No. 5:06-CR-00151-C-1)

(W.D. Okla.)

_________________________________

ORDER

_________________________________

Before KELLY, HARTZ, and HOLMES, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________

Defendant Jackie Lee Chambers appeals the district court’s order entered March 4, 

2015. The notice of appeal was filed more than three months after the filing deadline 

passed, however. The court issued an order challenging whether the appeal could 

continue. The appellant filed a response. Upon careful consideration, we conclude that 

this appeal should be dismissed as untimely. 

In a criminal case, a notice of appeal must be filed within 14 days after entry of the 

order being appealed. Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(1)(A)(i). In this case, the district court’s order 

imposing filing restrictions was entered on March 4, 2015. The notice of appeal should 

have been filed by March 18, 2015. The notice of appeal was not filed until July 6, 2015, 

long after the 14-day filing deadline passed. 

FILED

United States Court of Appeals

Tenth Circuit

August 4, 2015

Elisabeth A. Shumaker

Clerk of Court

Appellate Case: 15-6130 Document: 01019470173 Date Filed: 08/04/2015 Page: 1 
2

The timeliness requirement of Rule 4(b)(1)(A) is an inflexible claim processing 

rule rather than a jurisdictional limitation. United States v. Garduño, 506 F.3d 1287, 

1290-91 (10th Cir. 2007). Although the court is not required to dismiss a late-filed 

criminal appeal unless the government raises the issue first, the court is not prohibited 

from dismissing a late-filed criminal appeal sua sponte. The court may dismiss an 

untimely criminal appeal on its own when judicial or administrative efficiencies are 

implicated and the delay in taking the appeal was “inordinate.” United States v. Mitchell, 

518 F.3d 740, 750 (10th Cir. 2008). We find that raising untimeliness sua sponte is 

appropriate here because the delay in filing the notice of appeal was inordinate and 

allowing the appeal to continue would waste judicial resources. The appellant’s response 

to the court’s show cause order does not persuade us otherwise. 

Based on the foregoing, this appeal is dismissed as untimely.

Entered for the Court

ELISABETH A. SHUMAKER, Clerk

by: Lara Smith

 Counsel to the Clerk

Appellate Case: 15-6130 Document: 01019470173 Date Filed: 08/04/2015 Page: 2