Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-07-06268/USCOURTS-ca10-07-06268-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Gene Christianson
Appellee
Leah Edwards
Appellee
Jerry Lloyd Seward
Appellant
Bill Smith
Appellee

Document Text:

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT

JERRY LLOYD SEWARD, 

 Plaintiff - Appellant, 

v. 

GENE CHRISTIANSON, District

Attorney; LEAH EDWARDS,

Assistant District Attorney; BILL

SMITH, Public Defender, 

 Defendants - Appellees.

No. 07-6268

ORDER

Filed November 15, 2007

Before O’BRIEN, TYMKOVICH and GORSUCH, Circuit Judges.

This court lacks jurisdiction over this appeal because the notice of appeal was

filed late. The district court’s order denying the plaintiff’s motion for

reconsideration of the dismissal of his civil rights action was entered on July 20,

2007. The notice of appeal was filed on October 29, well beyond the 30 days

required by statute and rule. See 28 U.S.C. § 2701(a) (where the United States is not

a party, a notice of appeal in a civil matter must be filed within 30 days of entry of

judgment); Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A) (same). 

The plaintiff is not entitled to any benefit from the prisoner mailbox rule

Appellate Case: 07-6268 Document: 010169179 Date Filed: 11/15/2007 Page: 1 
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because the notice of appeal is dated August 21, one day late, and does not meet the

requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 4(c). See United States v. Ceballos-Martinez, 387

F.3d 1140, 1145 (10th Cir.) (holding that the requirements of Rule 4(c)(1) are

mandatory and that in order to benefit from the prisoner mail box rule an inmate

must “employ the methods provided by Congress [in Rule 4(c)(1)] to establish

compliance ....”).

Because a timely notice of appeal in a civil case is both mandatory and

jurisdictional, see Bowles v. Russell, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 2360, 2363, 2366

(2007), this appeal is DISMISSED. 

Entered for the Court

ELISABETH A. SHUMAKER, Clerk

Ellen Rich Reiter

Deputy Clerk/Jurisdictional Attorney

Appellate Case: 07-6268 Document: 010169179 Date Filed: 11/15/2007 Page: 2