Facts of the Case
In 2024 Flores filed a notice of appeal seeking review of a conviction from 2016 for sexual abuse of a child. Flores explained in a letter to the Second District Court that he had attempted to file his notice of appeal in November 2016 by depositing the notice in the prison mail system, but the letter had been returned unsent. A notice of appeal generally must be filed with the trial court within 30 days of the entry of conviction. The prison mailbox rule of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure, however, allows a notice of appeal to be considered as filed on the day it is placed in the prison mail system. This rule allows for reasonable delays in mailing or processing at the prison mail office.
Issue
Does the prison mailbox rule apply to Flores’s unsent 2016 notice of appeal, allowing his current notice of appeal to be considered timely?
Analysis
The prison mailbox rule states that papers filed from a correctional facility must be accompanied by a notarized statement or written declaration of the date of mailing, and a statement that first-class postage has been prepaid. Within Flores’s 2024 letter to the district court Flores included what was purportedly a copy of the 2016 notice of appeal, and a signed declaration dated November 28, 2016. The declaration, however, did not state that first-class postage had been prepaid, possibly explaining why the letter had been returned to Flores unsent.
The prison mailbox rule allows for a situation where a document reaches the court for filing. If the document is accompanied by the proper declaration, the court may accept the filing as timely, even if thirty days have passed. Flores’s alleged 2016 notice of appeal never reached the court. The document and declaration thus had no opportunity to be reviewed for timeliness.
Holding
The Court of Appeals held that the prison mailbox rule is only applicable in cases where a document actually reaches the court directly through the prison mail system. Flores’s alleged 2016 notice of appeal never reached the court to begin with. Because the prison mailbox rule does not apply, Flores’s current notice of appeal is considered untimely.