Houston v. Lack

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Brennan, held that a pro se prisoner's notice of appeal is filed when delivered to prison authorities for forwarding to the district court clerk. Houston's delivery within the 30-day appeal period therefore gave the Court of Appeals jurisdiction, and its dismissal was reversed. Justice Scalia dissented, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices O'Connor and Kennedy. He argued that the filing rules required receipt by the clerk, that a prisoner-specific exception should be adopted through formal rule amendment rather than judicial interpretation, and that Houston's alternative arguments did not justify relief.