Dora Staley v. FBI, No. 20-2027 (4th Cir. 2020)

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 20-2027 DORA STALEY, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, Headquarters in Columbia, S.C., Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Mary G. Lewis, District Judge. (3:19-cv-02962-MGL) Submitted: December 22, 2020 Decided: December 28, 2020 Before NIEMEYER, FLOYD, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges. Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Dora Staley, Appellant Pro Se. William Hammond Jordan, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Dora Staley seeks to appeal the district court’s order accepting the magistrate judge’s recommendation and dismissing Staley’s case with prejudice for failure to prosecute. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not timely filed. When the United States or its officer or agency is a party in a civil case, the notice of appeal must be filed no more than 60 days after the entry of the district court’s final judgment or order, Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B), unless the district court extends the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5) or reopens the appeal period under Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6). “[T]he timely filing of a notice of appeal in a civil case is a jurisdictional requirement.” Bowles v. Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 214 (2007). The district court entered its order on June 22, 2020. Staley filed the notice of appeal on September 22, 2020. Because Staley failed to file a timely notice of appeal or to obtain an extension or reopening of the appeal period, we dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. DISMISSED 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.