Victor Perkins v. Beneficial Indus. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 1949 . The district court’s subsequent…

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-6018
VICTOR PERKINS,
Petitioner - Appellant,
versus
G. ALAN DUBOIS, Assistant Federal Public
Defender,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. W. Earl Britt, Senior
District Judge. (CA-01-806-5-BR)
Submitted: March 27, 2002 Decided: April 16, 2002
Before NIEMEYER and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Victor Perkins, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).

-- 1 of 2 --

2
PER CURIAM:
On December 3, 2001, Victor B. Perkins filed a notice of
appeal. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because
there was no district court order being appealed. This court may
exercise jurisdiction only over final orders, 28 U.S.C. § 1291
(1994), and certain interlocutory and collateral orders, 28 U.S.C.
§ 1292 (1994); Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b); Cohen v. Beneficial Indus.
Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 (1949).
The district court’s subsequent entry of final judgment did
not validate the notice of appeal because Perkins did not file the
notice of appeal from a district court order. In addition, the
informal brief filed in this court could not be construed as a
notice of appeal because it was not the functional equivalent of
such a notice. Fed. R. App. P. 3(c); Smith v. Barry, 502 U.S. 244,
248 (1992).
We deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal
as interlocutory. We dispense with oral argument because the facts
and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
DISMISSED

-- 2 of 2 --