El Bey v. Dogdig

Background

The court had dismissed Jakim El Bey’s action by an order and judgment entered March 15, 2022. It later denied El Bey’s requests for relief from that judgment. On July 25, 2022, El Bey filed two motions: one asking for more time to file a notice of appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5), and one asking to proceed without paying filing fees on appeal under Rule 24(a)(1).

Extension of Time to Appeal

A notice of appeal generally had to be filed within 30 days after entry of the order or judgment. The court calculated that El Bey’s deadline for a timely notice of appeal was April 14, 2022. A motion seeking an extension under Rule 4(a)(5) had to be filed no later than May 16, 2022, because the ordinary deadline fell on a weekend. El Bey filed his motion on July 25, 2022. The court therefore denied the Rule 4(a)(5) motion as untimely.

The court also addressed El Bey’s statement that he had been incarcerated since May 31, 2022. It explained that the rule treating a prisoner’s filing as submitted when delivered to the prison mail system did not apply because El Bey did not allege that he was a prisoner on May 16, 2022, when the extension-motion deadline expired.

Permission to Proceed Without Paying Appeal Fees

The court had previously certified that an appeal from the March 15 dismissal would not be taken in good faith and had denied El Bey permission to proceed without paying fees for that appeal. The court had made the same certification and denial when it rejected El Bey’s later request for relief from the judgment. Based on those earlier rulings, the court denied El Bey’s Rule 24(a)(1) motion to proceed without paying appeal fees.

Disposition

Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain denied both motions: the motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal and the motion to proceed without paying fees on appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.