MURDOCK v. FNU WILLIAMS FNU FNU (2021)

Ajanaku E. Murdock, a North Carolina inmate, seeks to appeal the district court's order dismissing without prejudice his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint. An inmate's notice of appeal is considered filed as of the date it was delivered to prison officials for mailing to the court. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1); Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276, 108 S.Ct. 2379, 101 L.Ed.2d 245 (1988). Here, the record does not conclusively establish when Murdock gave the notice of appeal to prison officials for mailing. The notice of appeal contains an unsworn and unnotarized statement that Murdock delivered the notice of appeal to prison officials for mailing within the appeal period, but the postage stamp on the envelope that contained the notice of appeal, along with a handwritten note on the envelope, suggest that prison officials may have received the notice after the expiration of the appeal period. We therefore remand for the limited purpose of allowing the district court to determine the date on which Murdock filed the notice of appeal under Rule 4(c)(1) and Houston. The record, as supplemented, will then be returned to this court for further consideration. REMANDED

PER CURIAM:

Remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.