If a Litigant Files a Notice of Appeal After the Expiration of the Ordinary Appeal Period, but Before an Appeal Is Reopened by the District Court, Must the Petitioner File Another Notice Once the Appeal Is Reopened?

Donte Parrish, a prison inmate, was being transferred from federal to state custody when the district court dismissed his civil case for compensation for years he had wrongfully spent in segregation. The circumstances of the transfer meant that he did not receive notice of the judgment against him until well after the time to appeal had expired. Acting pro se, he quickly responded and filed a notice of appeal explaining the delay. The district court reopened the appeal. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a divided opinion, concluded that his notice of appeal was still untimely because petitioner should have filed a second notice of appeal after the appeal period was reopened, and his case again was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The Fourth Circuit’s opinion created a split with the other federal circuit courts to have considered the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]