Background
Travis Hunter Blank, a former federal prisoner convicted of transporting and possessing child pornography, is serving a lifetime term of supervised release.
Blank moved under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(1) for early termination of supervised release. After the district court denied the motion, he appealed. The Government moved to dismiss the appeal as untimely and sought summary affirmance or, alternatively, additional time to file a brief.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit dismissed Blank’s appeal because his notice of appeal was untimely under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b)(1). The court explained that dismissal was mandatory because the Government had properly invoked the rule’s time limit.
The court granted the Government’s motion to dismiss and denied its remaining motions. It therefore did not address whether the district court properly refused to terminate Blank’s supervised release early.
Key Takeaways
- A criminal defendant’s notice of appeal must comply with Rule 4(b)(1)’s filing deadline.
- When the Government properly seeks enforcement of that deadline, the appellate court must dismiss an untimely appeal.
- The Fifth Circuit did not reach the merits of Blank’s request for early termination of his lifetime supervised release.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that an untimely notice of appeal can prevent appellate review even when the challenged ruling concerns the continuing terms of supervised release. Because the Government invoked the deadline, the Fifth Circuit treated dismissal as mandatory.