Roger Lee Morse v. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Morse filed an appeal pro se in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, after the 30-day jurisdictional deadline of 28 U.S.C. § 2107. He filed no motion to extend that deadline in the district court, as provided by the statute. Instead, he obtained counsel, abandoned his appeal, and pursued post-trial relief in the district court. The Fourth Circuit interpreted his late notice of appeal as a motion to extend the deadline, and remanded to the district court for a ruling on whether the deadline should be extended. The district court ruled that it should. The circuit court therefore reopened Mr. Morse’s appeal and denied it. Based on the circuit court’s exercise of jurisdiction, the district court refused to consider Morse’s request for post-trial relief

1. Given Morse’s untimely appeal, did the circuit court have jurisdiction to solicit a ruling from the district court, instead of dismissing the appeal?

2. As Morse did not request an extension of the deadline under 28 U.S.C. § 2107(c), could the district court’s order support jurisdiction in the circuit court?

3. As Morse had abandoned his appeal and sought post-trial relief in the district court, was the circuit court impermissibly imposing a legal strategy on him, and a losing strategy at that?