Opinion ID: 3159792
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: “The filing of a timely notice of appeal is an absolute prerequisite to our jurisdiction” over an application for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. United States v. Ceballos-Martinez, 371 F.3d 713, 715 (10th Cir. 2004). “In a civil case, except as provided in Rules 4(a)(1)(B), 4(a)(4), and 4(c), the notice of appeal . . . must be filed with the district clerk within 30 days after entry of the judgment or order appealed from.” Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A). Under Rule 4(c)(1), -7- If an inmate confined in an institution files a notice of appeal in either a civil or a criminal case, the notice is timely if it is deposited in the institution’s internal mail system on or before the last day for filing. If an institution has a system designed for legal mail, the inmate must use that system to receive the benefit of this rule. Timely filing may be shown by a declaration in compliance with 28 U.S.C. § 1746 or by a notarized statement, either of which must set forth the date of deposit and state that first-class postage has been prepaid. Mr. Plancarte’s notice of appeal was not filed until July 31, 2015—more than 30 days after the district court’s entry of judgment—and did not contain a declaration or notarized statement that he had deposited the notice in the prison mail system on or before the July 29, 2015 deadline. On August 3, 2015, the Clerk therefore ordered Mr. Plancarte to file proof of compliance with Rule 4(c)(1) within 21 days. Mr. Plancarte responded on August 26, 2015, with a sworn declaration that he had placed his notice of appeal, along with prepaid postage, in the prison’s legal mail system on July 29, 2015. Attached to his declaration was an “Outgoing Restricted Inspection Mail Log,” which showed that on July 29, the prison “received” a piece of mail addressed to the U.S. District Court in Denver. Doc. 10297693 at 2 (capitalization omitted). According to the log, that correspondence was “mailed” the following day, July 30, 2015. Id. (capitalization omitted). Mr. Plancarte also attached a “Department of Corrections Misc. Withdrawal Ticket,” dated July 29, 2015, indicating $1.42 had been removed from his account to pay for “Legal Mail.” Id. at 3 (capitalization omitted). Although Mr. Plancarte’s notice was not mailed until the 30th, the prison mail log shows he “deposited [it] in the institution’s internal mail system on or before the last day for filing”—i.e., July 29 2015. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1). The notice of appeal was -8- therefore timely, and Mr. Plancarte’s filing of that notice does not deprive us of jurisdiction. Price v. Philpot, 420 F.3d 1158, 1163-64 (10th Cir. 2005) (“[A] pro se prisoner’s notice of appeal will be considered timely if given to prison officials for mailing prior to the filing deadline, regardless of when the court itself receives the documents.”).
A state prisoner may appeal a final order dismissing his § 2254 application only if a court first issues a COA. 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(A). To obtain a COA, the prisoner must make “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” Id. § 2253(c)(2). “[U]ntil a COA has been issued federal courts of appeals lack jurisdiction to rule on the merits of appeals from habeas petitioners.” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003).