Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca4-14-07640/USCOURTS-ca4-14-07640-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Antonio Germaine Johnson
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-7640

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

ANTONIO GERMAINE JOHNSON,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of 

South Carolina, at Florence. C. Weston Houck, Senior District 

Judge. (4:02-cr-00579-CWH-1)

Submitted: April 24, 2015 Decided: May 28, 2015

Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Antonio Germaine Johnson, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Frank Daley, 

Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina; 

William E. Day, II, Assistant United States Attorney, Florence, 

South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:

Antonio Germaine Johnson seeks to appeal his 2003 criminal 

judgment imposed following his guilty plea to conspiracy to 

distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or 

more of cocaine base, and five kilograms or more of cocaine, in 

violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (2012). The district court entered 

judgment on May 21, 2003. At that time, Rule 4(b)(1)(A) of the 

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure required a defendant in a 

criminal case to file his notice of appeal within ten days of 

the entry of judgment.1

 With or without a motion, upon a showing 

of excusable neglect or good cause, the district court may grant 

an extension of up to thirty days to file a notice of appeal. 

Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4); United States v. Reyes, 759 F.2d 351, 

353 (4th Cir. 1985).

Johnson filed his notice of appeal, at the earliest, on

October 8, 2014.2

 Because Johnson failed to file a timely notice 

of appeal or to obtain an extension of the appeal period, we 

 1 Rule 4 was amended effective December 1, 2009, to 

establish a 14-day appeal period. Fed. R. Crim. P. 4(b)(1)(A) 

(2009).

2 Johnson’s notice of appeal was undated. However, he

included a certificate of service stating that he mailed the 

notice of appeal to the United States Attorney on October 8, 

2014. We presume that this is the earliest date Johnson could 

have delivered his notice of appeal to prison officials for

mailing to the court. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1); Houston v. Lack, 

487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988).

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dismiss the appeal as untimely.3 Johnson’s motion for 

appointment of counsel is denied. We dispense with oral 

argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately 

presented in the materials before this court. 

DISMISSED

 3 We note that the appeal period in a criminal case is not a 

jurisdictional provision, but, rather, a claim-processing rule. 

United States v. Urutyan, 564 F.3d 679, 685 (4th Cir. 2009). 

Because Johnson’s appeal is inordinately late, and its 

consideration is not in the best interest of judicial economy, 

we exercise our inherent power to dismiss it. United States v. 

Mitchell, 518 F.3d 740, 744, 750 (10th Cir. 2008).

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