Case Explained: United States of America Plaintiff— v. Olamide Olatayo Bello Defendant—

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-08

The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal in part for lack of jurisdiction and denied pending motions as moot. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the district court’s order denying Bello’s post-judgment motion based on perjury and newly discovered evidence because such a motion is procedurally improper; the court noted that a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is the only available avenue to attack the original conviction in this context. The court further ruled that the appeal regarding the denial of a motion to settle the record due to an unavailability of a sentencing transcript was moot, as the transcript had subsequently been mailed and was now part of the record. Finally, the court ordered that the appeal concerning the denial of a motion to reopen the time to file a notice of appeal be consolidated with the separate appeal of the amended judgment (No. 25-40772). The panel directed that the judge hearing the consolidated appeal determine whether a limited remand is necessary to assess if Bello demonstrated excusable neglect or good cause for filing his notice of appeal late, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b)(4). All pending motions related to the dismissed portions were denied as moot.

Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.