Background
Kippie Walker filed a complaint under Section nineteen hundred eighty-three of Title forty-two of the United States Code in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The district court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to comply with an order to pay the initial partial filing fee or attest inability to pay. Walker attempted to appeal this dismissal.
The court’s reasoning
The court determined it lacked jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not timely filed. The district court entered its order on October twenty-seventh, two thousand and twenty-five, making the appeal period expire on November twenty-sixth, two thousand and twenty-five. Walker filed his notice of appeal on December second, two thousand and twenty-five. The court cited Bowles versus Russell, stating that timely filing is a jurisdictional requirement. The court also noted that the district court order was final and appealable because leave to amend was not granted.
What it means going forward
The dismissal prevents the appellate court from reviewing the merits of the underlying Section nineteen hundred eighty-three claim due to the procedural failure to file on time.