SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHRISTIE SPEIR CAMERON, Clerk
Justice Building, 2 East Morgan Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 733-3723

Mailing Address:
PO Box 2170
Raleigh, NC 27602

Fax: (919) 133-0105

BBS: (919) 733-0486

17 November 2000

Mr. Ronnie Lee Kimble
Pasquotank Correctional Institution

527 Commerce Drive
Elizabeth City, North Carolina 27906
 

Dear Mr. Kimble:
 

The Supreme Court Clerk's Office has received your Motion for Extension of Time to file an appeal. Please be advised that the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure provide that petitions for discretionary review (a type of appeal) and notice of appeal based upon a constitutional question be filed a total of thirty-five days after the filing of the North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion, The thirty-five days is calculated in the following manner: the mandate issues twenty days from the date of the opinion and the appeal must be filed within fifteen days thereafter. Petitions for writ of certiorari (another type of appeal) must be filed without unreasonable delay. The Rules do not provide for an extension of time beyond thirty-five days to file a petition for discretional y review or notice of appeal based upon a constitutional question. Since the Court of Appeals opinion was issued on 3 October 2000, your appeal was due in our Office on 8 November 2000.
 

Although you have missed the deadline for filing a petition for discretionary review or a notice of appeal based upon a constitutional question, you may still file a petition for writ of certiorari if you file without unreasonable delay. There are no strict guidelines for determining what constitutes unreasonable delay. The Court might not consider a period of a few months unreasonable delay, but may might consider a period of a year or more to be too long. Each case is judged individually
Please find enclosed a portion of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure which you may use as a guide in filing your petition. You should have your original signature on the appeal. In addition, you should attach a copy of the North Carolina Court of Appeals's opinion and any other important documents that you wish the Court to consider. Please be advised, however, that our Office cannot return the original documents to you free of charge. We will charge $.20 a page to copy documents and return to you. Therefore, you may wish to make copies of all documents prior to submitting them to the Court.

Page 2
Mr. Ronnie Lee Kimble

Although you may file your own appeal, you may also seek assistance from the following sources: Prisoner Legal Services, P.O. Box 25397, Raleigh, North Carolina 27611, Prisoners' Rights Project, UNC School of Law, Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, B#3380, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, or Prisoners' Rights Project, Duke University School of Law, Durham, North Carolina 27706.

Sincerely,
The Clerk's Office

Enclosure:  Rules of Appellate Procedure

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