Jones v. United States Sente GOP

Background

Rafael Arden Jones, Sr. filed the action without a lawyer while detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center. On December 3, 2021, the court denied his request to proceed without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) and dismissed the complaint without prejudice. The court also stated that Jones was barred under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 from filing any new action without paying the filing fee unless he first obtained permission from a court.

Request for more time

The court received Jones’s notice of appeal and motion for more time on January 24, 2022. Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(1)(A), a civil notice of appeal generally must be filed within 30 days after judgment. Rule 4(a)(5)(A) allows a district court to extend that deadline when the request is made within 30 days after the deadline and the party shows good cause or excusable neglect.

The judgment was entered on December 3, 2021. Jones signed his notice of appeal and extension motion on January 19, 2022. Applying the prison mailbox rule, the court treated the submissions as filed on the date Jones signed them. Jones said the appeal was late because he did not receive the dismissal order until January 16, 2022.

Ruling

For good cause shown, Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Jones’s motion for an extension of time to appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims in the complaint. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to change Jones’s address of record to the Robert N. Davoren Complex and mail him a copy of the order there. The court reminded Jones that he must file a change-of-address form in any pending case when his address changes.