Steven James Kelly, proceeding pro se, sought to appeal a district court order entered on October 16, 2024, in his underlying criminal case. The district court had previously adjudicated Kelly incompetent and dismissed the indictment in 2022. Kelly filed a document titled 'Formal Appeal for; 18-USC-871(a) (DE 56)' in the district court, which was docketed as a notice of appeal, though he failed to identify any specific rulings he intended to appeal. The Eleventh Circuit issued a jurisdictional question to the parties to clarify which order Kelly intended to appeal. The government moved to dismiss, arguing the notice was untimely, and Kelly did not respond to the court's inquiry.
The court analyzed the timeliness of the notice of appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b)(1)(A)(i), which requires a criminal defendant to file a notice of appeal within 14 days after the entry of the order or judgment being appealed. The relevant order was entered on October 16, 2024, setting a strict deadline of October 30, 2024. The court applied the prison mailbox rule, which treats a notice as filed on the date the prisoner delivers it to prison authorities for mailing. Kelly certified he delivered the notice on September 1, 2025, or alternatively, it was stamped as received by prison officials on September 2, 2025. In either scenario, the filing date was more than a year after the October 2024 deadline. Furthermore, the court noted that under Rule 4(b)(4), a district court may only extend the time to file a notice of appeal if the request is made within 30 days of the expiration of the original deadline. Since Kelly's notice was filed well beyond that 30-day window, he was not eligible for an extension. The court concluded that because the notice was untimely for the most recent order, it was also untimely for any earlier orders.
The appeal is dismissed, leaving the district court's October 2024 order in place. This decision reinforces the strict adherence to the 14-day filing window for criminal appeals and the 30-day window for seeking extensions. Prisoners must ensure their notices are delivered to prison authorities within the statutory period, as the mailbox rule does not provide a safety net for filings made months or years late.