CANINI v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Filing 8

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER- ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall make a new and separate entry marking this matter RE-OPENED; ORDERED that the motion for an extension of time to file Notice of Appeal 7 is Granted; ORDERED that, Petitioner shall have fourteen days from the entry of this order in which to file a notice of appeal; ORDERED that the Clerk shall again mark this case CLOSED. Signed by Judge Noel L. Hillman on 1/18/2018. (rtm, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
RUBEN CANINI,

No. 17-cv-1220 (NLH)

Petitioner,

MEMORANDUM AND
ORDER

v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et
al.,
Respondents.
IT APPEARING THAT:
1.

On July 7, 2017, the Court entered an order dismissing

Petitioner’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 2241 for lack of jurisdiction.
2.

See ECF No. 6.

The time for filing a Notice of Appeal pursuant to

Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4 expired on September 5,
2017.

See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B) (providing for sixty days

in which to file the notice when the United States is a party).
3.

Petitioner filed on September 21, 2017, a Motion for

Extension of Time to File a Notice of Appeal pursuant to Federal
Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(5)(A), because Petitioner was
unexpectedly transferred to another federal prison and he did
not receive his property and legal materials relevant to this
matter until September 13, 2017.
4.

See ECF No. 7 at 1.

A district court may grant an extension of time in

which to file a notice of appeal if the movant requests such
1

relief within 30 days after the time for filing the notice of
appeal has expired and the movant shows good cause for the
failure to timely file.

See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5)(A)(i) &

(ii).
5.

Here, Petitioner filed his motion within thirty days

after the time for filing a notice of appeal expired and
demonstrated good cause due to his lack of legal materials. 1
IT IS therefore on this

18th

day of

January

, 2018,

ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall make a new and
separate entry marking this matter RE-OPENED; and it is further
ORDERED that the Motion for Extension of Time to File
Notice of Appeal, ECF No. 7, is GRANTED; and it is further

1

Prison conditions, including lack of access to legal materials
and the law library, may constitute good cause for the purpose
of Rule 4(a). See, e.g., Levesque v. Clinton County, 2014 WL
2090803, at *2 (N.D.N.Y. May 19, 2014) (“[C]ourts have found
that difficulties frequently encountered by inmates, such as
prison transfers, confinement in segregated housing units,
and/or limited access to legal materials, especially when
considered in light of their pro se status, constitute ‘good
cause’ for purposes of Rule 4(a)(5).”); Jones v. Walsh, 2008 WL
586270, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 2008) (prisoner's inability to
access law library constitutes good cause for purposes of Rule
4); Harris v. Cockrell, 2003 WL 21500397, at *2 (N.D. Tex. Apr.
9, 2003) (holding that “good cause” is shown where prisoner
lacked access to legal materials “due to circumstances beyond
his control”).
2

ORDERED that, Petitioner shall have fourteen (14) days 2 from
the entry of this order in which to file a notice of appeal; and
it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve Plaintiff
with copies of this Order via regular mail; and it is finally
ORDERED that the Clerk shall again mark this case CLOSED.

At Camden, New Jersey

s/ Noel L. Hillman
NOEL L. HILLMAN, U.S.D.J.

2

The maximum extension permitted by the Federal Rules of
Appellate Procedure in this circumstance is fourteen days.
Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(5)(C).
3

See