Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. George Anthony AUTOBEE, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-07-18
Citations: 870 F.3d 1184
Docket Number: No. 17-1082
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. George Anthony AUTOBEE, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before PHILLIPS, McKAY, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.,.
Reporter: Federal Reporter 3d Series
Volume: 870
Pages: 1184–1185

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. George Anthony AUTOBEE, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 17-1082
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.
July 18, 2017
J. Bishop Grewell, Office of the United States Attorney, District of Colorado, Denver, CO, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Grant Russell Smith, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Districts of Colorado and Wyoming, Denver, CO, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before PHILLIPS, McKAY, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.,.

Opinion:
ORDER
'This matter is before us on Appellant George Autobee's 'Unopposed Motion for H-Day Extension of Time to File Petition for Panel Rehearing.
Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 40(a)(1), a party may file a petition for panel rehearing in' most cases, including criminal" cases, "within 14 days after entry of judgment. But in a civil case, when the United States is a party, the time to petition for rehearing is 45 days. Fed. R. App. P. 40(a)(1)(B).
We entered our Order Denying Certificate of Appealability in this 28 U.S.C. § 2255 appeal on July 6, 2017. Assuming that the 14-day period applies, Appellant requests an extension of time to file a petition for panel rehearing from July 20, 2017, to August 3, 2017.
There is no question that the United States is a party to the litigation. The question is only whether a § 2255 proceeding is a civil case for purposes of Rule 40. This court has not specifically decided this question. At least one of our sister circuits has assumed that the 45-day period applies. See Kusay v. United States, 62 F.3d 192, 193 (7th Cir. 1995) (noting the extra time to seek rehearing in a § 2255 appeal because it involves civil litigation to which the United States is a party). We have said that § 2255 proceedings are civil for purposes of the time to appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4. United States v. Pinto, 1 F.3d 1069, 1070 (10th Cir. 1993); see also Rules Governing § 2255 Proceedings, Rule 11(b) ("Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a) governs the time to appeal an order entered under these rules."); Rule 11(b) advisory committee's note to 1979 amendment.
We see no sound legal basis, to treat a § 2255 proceeding as civil for purposes of calculating a deadline under one rule of appellate procedure but as criminal for purposes of calculating a deadline under another rule. Accordingly, we conclude that § 2255 proceedings are civil cases for purposes of Rule 40. As a result, the time to petition for rehearing is 45 days and Appellant's motion is denied as unnecessary.
. The rules governing proceedings in the United States District Courts under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, as approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States, were prescribed by the United States Supreme Court and transmitted to Congress pursuant' to 18 U.S.C. § 3771, 3772, and 28 U.S.C. § 2072, by order dated April 26, 1976.