Asaru El-Bey v. Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Decided: January 20, 2026
• Docket: 25-14034
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 25-14034 Document: 21-1 Date Filed: 01/20/2026 Page: 1 of 2

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-14034 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

ASARU EL-BEY, a.k.a. Asaru Nebemare El-Bey, Petitioner-Appellant, versus

SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Respondent-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:25-cv-00945-TPB-TGW ____________________

Before JORDAN, ROSENBAUM, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: USCA11 Case: 25-14034 Document: 21-1 Date Filed: 01/20/2026 Page: 2 of 2

2 Opinion of the Court 25-14034

This appeal is DISMISSED, sua sponte, for lack of jurisdic- tion because Asaru El-Bey’s notice of appeal, filed on Novem- ber 12, 2025, is untimely to appeal from the district court’s October 9, 2025, final judgment dismissing his habeas corpus petition. See 28 U.S.C. § 2107(a); Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A), 26(a)(1)(C); Green v. Drug Enf’t Admin., 606 F.3d 1296, 1300-01 (11th Cir. 2010) (provid- ing that in a civil case, a timely notice of appeal is a jurisdictional requirement). All pending motions are DENIED as moot. Although El-Bey’s November 12 notice of appeal is un- timely, the record reveals that he filed on November 3 a motion for certificate of appealability that we construe as a timely notice of appeal. See Rinaldo v. Corbett, 256 F.3d 1276, 1278-80 (11th Cir. 2001) (explaining that a document may be construed as a notice of appeal when (1) the document serves the functional equivalent of a notice of appeal, and (2) the document “specifically indicate[s] the litigant’s intent to seek appellate review”); Smith v. Barry, 502 U.S. 244, 248-49 (1992) (“If a document filed within the time specified by [Federal] Rule [of Appellate Procedure] 4 gives the notice re- quired by Rule 3, it is effective as a notice of appeal.”); Thames v. Dugger, 848 F.2d 149, 150 (11th Cir. 1988) (construing application for certificate of probable cause, the precursor to a certificate of ap- pealability, as a notice of appeal). Accordingly, the district court is DIRECTED to transmit to this Court El-Bey’s November 3, 2025, motion for certificate of appealability as a notice of appeal from the final judgment. Upon receiving that construed notice of appeal from the district court, the Clerk shall open a new appeal.