Law Commons^™

Proceeding Pro Se: Misguided Limitations On The Prison Mailbox Rule In Cretacci V. Call, Eleanor Ritter

Pepperdine Law Review

Under the “prison mailbox rule,” an inmate’s notice of appeal in either a criminal or civil case is considered filed at the moment the notice is given to prison authorities to be mailed. But the prison mailbox rule originated as a common law rule––having developed in Fallen v. United States and Houston v. Lack––and was not codified in the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure until 1993. In light of its complex origins, circuit courts have split over to whom and to which types of filings the rule should apply. More specifically, courts have disagreed over whether the prison mailbox rule …