United States v. Dodson ( 1999 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-4740
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
DOUGLAS J. DODSON, JR., a/k/a Becky,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Richmond. James R. Spencer, District Judge.
(CR-95-73)
Submitted: April 29, 1999 Decided: May 5, 1999
Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Andrea C. Long, BOONE, BEALE, COSBY & LONG, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellant. Helen F. Fahey, United States Attorney, Nicholas S.
Altimari, Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Douglas J. Dodson, Jr., was convicted of conspiracy to dis-
tribute heroin and cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to
distribute a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm by
a convicted felon. He was sentenced to life in prison for con-
spiracy, 240 months on each of the possession counts, and 120
months on the firearm count. The 240-month sentences and the 120-
month sentence run concurrently with the life sentence. Judgment
was imposed on September 21, 1998, and entered on the docket on
September 22. Dodson, through his attorney, filed his notice of
appeal on October 7, 1998.
In criminal cases, a defendant must file his notice of appeal
within ten days of the entry of judgment. See Fed. R. App. P.
4(b)(1), 26(a). Upon a showing of good cause or excusable neglect
and with or without a motion, the district court may grant an
extension of up to thirty days to file the notice of appeal. See
Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4); United States v. Reyes, 759 F.2d 351, 353
(4th Cir. 1985). When an appellant files a notice of appeal after
expiration of the ten-day period but within the thirty-day exten-
sion period, unless excusable neglect or good cause is clear from
the record, the district court must make factual findings concern-
ing whether excusable neglect or good cause exists warranting
extension of the appeal period. See id.2
Dodson’s notice of appeal was filed after expiration of the
ten-day appeal period but within the thirty-day extension period.
Accordingly, we remand this case to the district court with in-
structions to make factual findings concerning whether excusable
neglect or good cause exists to justify extending the ten-day
appeal period. We dispense with oral argument because the facts
and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
We defer ruling on the motion to file a pro se supplemental brief
pending a decision by the district court.
REMANDED
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