
    UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Darnell FREEMAN, Defendant-Appellant.
    No. 03-4125.
    United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
    Submitted Feb. 19, 2004.
    Decided Feb. 25, 2004.
    Darnell Freeman, Appellant pro se. Le-Dora Knight, Office of the United States Attorney, Paul Joseph McNulty, United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.
    Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.
    Dismissed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).
   PER CURIAM.

Darnell Freeman was convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and sentenced to 121 months’ imprisonment by judgment entered on January 3, 2003. Freeman filed a notice of appeal on January 23. The district court found no excusable neglect or good cause excusing Freeman’s untimely filing.

Criminal defendants have ten days from the entry of the judgment or order at issue to file a notice of appeal. See Fed. R.App. P. 4(b). The appeal periods established by Rule 4 are mandatory and jurisdictional. Browder v. Dir., Dep’t of Corr., 434 U.S. 257, 264, 98 S.Ct. 556, 54 L.Ed.2d 521 (1978). Because Freeman filed his notice of appeal outside the appeal period and failed to show either good cause or excusable neglect, we lack jurisdiction to consider the merits of the appeal.

Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED  