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United States of America v. Eric Rayonn Rowls a.k.a. "E"., a.k.a. Eric Rannon Rowls

Date: 12-27-2021

Case Number: 20-13708

Judge: Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, JORDAN, and NEWSOM, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM

Court:

United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit
On appeal from The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida

Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office

Defendant's Attorney:



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Description:

Atlanta, GA- Criminal defense lawyer represented defendant with appealing the denial of his motion to reconsider the denial of his motion for compassionate release.





The United States asks that we dismiss Rowls's

appeal for failure to file timely his notice of appeal. We treat

Rowls's notice of appeal dated September 14, 2020, as a motion for

an extension of time and remand for the limited purpose of having

the district court make a finding about good cause or excusable neglect.

A defendant must file a notice of appeal within 14 days of the

entry of judgment or the order being appealed. Fed. R. App. P.

4(b)(1)(A)(i); see United States v. Fair, 326 F.3d 1317, 1318 (11th Cir.

2003) ("[A] § 3582(c)(2) motion is not a civil post-conviction action,

but rather a continuation of a criminal case.”). This rule is not jurisdictional, so the government must either object to an untimely

notice or forfeit its objection. United States v. Lopez, 562 F.3d 1309,

1314 (11th Cir. 2009). The district court may extend the period an

USCA11 Case: 20-13708 Date Filed: 11/15/2021 Page: 2 of 4

20-13708 Opinion of the Court 3

additional 30 days "[u]pon a finding of excusable neglect or good

cause.” Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4).

A motion for reconsider filed in a criminal case can toll the

time for filing a notice of appeal. United States v. Vicaria, 963 F.2d

1412, 1413–14 (11th Cir. 1992). The motion tolls the deadline when

filed within 14 days of the entry of judgment. Id. at 1414. The time

to file the notice of appeal "begins to run anew following disposition of the motion.” Id.

We remand for the limited purpose of having the district

court determine whether an extension based on good cause or excusable neglect is warranted. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(b)(4). The district court denied Rowls's motion for compassionate release on

July 10, 2020. Eleven days later, on July 21, 2020, Rowls filed by

email a motion "asking for the [district] court to alter or amend [its]

judgment.” Although Rowls could not rely on Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure Rule 59(e) in his criminal case, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 1; Fair,

326 F.3d at 1318, we construe his motion liberally as a motion for

reconsideration, Tannenbaum v. United States, 148 F.3d 1262, 1263

(11th Cir. 1998). That motion tolled the deadline to appeal until its

denial on August 4, 2020. See Vicaria, 963 F.2d at 1414. Rowls asked

"for the notice of appeal to be filed” in a letter he dated as September 14, 2020. Because Rowls filed his late notice before expiration

of the additional 30-day period to move for an extension of time in

which to appeal, we remand for the district court to make a finding

whether good cause or excusable neglect exists to justify an

USCA11 Case: 20-13708 Date Filed: 11/15/2021 Page: 3 of 4

4 Opinion of the Court 20-13708

extension. See United States v. Ward, 696 F.2d 1315, 1317–18 (11th

Cir. 1983)
Outcome:
REMANDED.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments:

About This Case

What was the outcome of United States of America v. Eric Rayonn Rowls a.k.a. "E"....?

The outcome was: REMANDED.

Which court heard United States of America v. Eric Rayonn Rowls a.k.a. "E"....?

This case was heard in <center><h4><b> United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit </b> <br> <font color="green"><i>On appeal from The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida </i></font></center></h4>, GA. The presiding judge was Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, JORDAN, and NEWSOM, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM.

Who were the attorneys in United States of America v. Eric Rayonn Rowls a.k.a. "E"....?

Plaintiff's attorney: United States Attorney’s Office. Defendant's attorney: Atlanta, GA - Best Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory Tell MoreLaw About Your Litigation Successes and MoreLaw Will Tell the World. Re: MoreLaw National Jury Verdict and Settlement Counselor: MoreLaw collects and publishes civil and criminal litigation information from the state and federal courts nationwide. Publication is free and access to the information is free to the public. MoreLaw will publish litigation reports submitted by you free of charge Info@MoreLaw.com - 855-853-4800.

When was United States of America v. Eric Rayonn Rowls a.k.a. "E".... decided?

This case was decided on December 27, 2021.