Jesse Almendarez v. United States; Robert J. Dodson; Robert J. Higdon, Jr.

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 22-7410
JESSE ALMENDAREZ,
Petitioner - Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES; ROBERT J. DODSON; ROBERT J. HIGDON, JR.,
Respondents - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at
Raleigh. Richard E. Myers, II, Chief District Judge. (5:22-hc-02130-M-RJ)
Submitted: August 10, 2023 Decided: September 14, 2023
Before WILKINSON, WYNN, and BENJAMIN, Circuit Judges.
Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Jesse Almendarez, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Jesse Almendarez seeks to appeal the district court’s order dismissing without
prejudice his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petition. The district court received the notice of appeal
after the expiration of the appeal period. Because Almendarez is institutionalized, the
notice of appeal is considered filed as of the date it was properly delivered to prison
officials for mailing to the court. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266
(1988). The record does not conclusively establish when Almendarez deposited the notice
of appeal in the institution’s internal mail system. Accordingly, we remand the case for
the limited purpose of allowing the district court to make this finding and to determine
whether Almendarez timely noted an appeal under Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1) and Houston v.
Lack. The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court for further
consideration.
REMANDED

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