UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 21-7154

SEAN S. EARL, Petitioner - Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, Respondent - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Robert E. Payne, Senior District Judge. (3:19-cv-00547-REP-RCY)

Submitted: January 20, 2022 Decided: January 25, 2022

Before WILKINSON, DIAZ, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Sean S. Earl, Appellant Pro Se.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM: Sean S. Earl filed a notice of appeal, dated July 26, 2021, in his closed 28 U.S.C. § 2254 action. However, Earl failed to designate an appealable judgment or order in his notice of appeal or informal brief. See Fed. R. App. P. 3(c)(1)(B). ∗ Because it is impossible to ascertain the judgment or order that Earl wishes to appeal, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See Jackson v. Lightsey, 775 F.3d 170, 176-77 (4th Cir. 2014). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED

∗ Earl stated in his notice of appeal that he was appealing an order entered on July 16, 2021; however, the district court did not enter an order on or near that date. Earl stated in his informal brief that he was appealing this court’s August 7, 2020, order dismissing his prior interlocutory appeal. However, Earl already filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in that action, which the Supreme Court of the United States denied on November 2, 2020.

And, to the extent Earl was attempting to appeal the district court’s dismissal of his § 2254 petition, his notice of appeal was untimely. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A).