Clinton Johnson, Jr. v. B. Dancelon ( 2023 )

USCA4 Appeal: 23-6480 Doc: 11 Filed: 07/28/2023 Pg: 1 of 3
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 23-6480
CLINTON D. JOHNSON, JR., a/k/a Clinton D. Johnson, a/k/a Clinton Douglas
Johnson, Jr., a/k/a Kayzon Ru,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
OFFICER B. R. DANCELON; BLAKE A. NORTON; SHAWN D. CHASTIN; ELI
ELIJAH HEWELL; KIM RUTZ; KIM DUBOSE; SOUTHERN HEALTHCARE
PARTNERS; HENRY MCMASTER; CAPTAIN JEREMY CHAPMAN; BRIAN
DANIELSON; MIKE CRENSHAW; WAYNE OWENS; MPD COLLINS;
DEPUTY HAILEY; BETHANY BLUNDY; DAVID R. WAGNER; STEVEN
GILLIARD,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at
Orangeburg. Sherri A. Lydon, District Judge. (5:22-cv-01547-SAL)
Submitted: July 25, 2023 Decided: July 28, 2023
Before WYNN and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Clinton Douglas Johnson, Jr., Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Clinton D. Johnson, Jr., seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the
recommendation of the magistrate judge and dismissing Johnson’s amended complaint.
“[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement.”
Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007). Parties have 30 days after the entry of the
district court’s final judgment or order to note an appeal in a civil case, Fed. R. App. P.
4(a)(1)(A), unless the district court extends the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5),
or reopens the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). A district court may reopen
the appeal period under Rule 4(a)(6) if (1) the party moving for reopening did not receive
notice of the entry of the judgment or order sought to be appealed within 21 days after
entry; (2) the motion to reopen is filed within 180 days after the entry of the judgment or
order, or within 14 days after receiving notice of such entry, whichever is earlier; and (3) a
reopening would not prejudice any party.
The district court entered its order on February 13, 2023. Johnson did not file his
notice of appeal until May 5, 2023. * Johnson’s appeal was thus filed after the 30-day
appeal period expired. Johnson stated in the notice of appeal, however, that he did not
receive the district court’s order until April 28, 2023.
Because Johnson’s notice of appeal informed the district court that he wished to
appeal and that he did not receive the court’s order until April 28, we construe it as a motion
*
We assume that the date appearing on Johnson’s notice of appeal is the earliest
date that he could have provided it to prison officials for mailing to the district court. See
Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988).
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to reopen the appeal period. We therefore remand to the district court for the limited
purpose of determining whether Johnson is entitled to a reopening of the appeal period
pursuant to Rule 4(a)(6). The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court
for further consideration.
REMANDED
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