11th Cir.

Raymond Lee Kelly v. United States of America

April 13, 2026 ·25-13907 ·Per Curiam · By James Taylor

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed this appeal sua sponte for lack of jurisdiction. The court found that the petitioner's notice of appeal was filed well past the statutory deadline.

Background

Raymond Lee Kelly, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se, sought to appeal a district court judgment denying his motion under Section twenty-eight U.S.C. Section two thousand two hundred fifty-five. The district court entered judgment on June twelfth, two thousand twenty-five.

The court’s reasoning

The court determined that the sixty-day statutory time limit required Kelly to file a notice of appeal by August eleventh, two thousand twenty-five. Although Kelly’s notice was deemed filed on October twenty-seventh, two thousand twenty-five under the prison mailbox rule, the filing was untimely and could not invoke appellate jurisdiction.

What it means going forward

The dismissal prevents any review of the underlying habeas denial, leaving the district court’s judgment in place.