Bowles requested to file an appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(6), which allows a district court to grant a 14-day extension under certain conditions.

The District Court granted Bowles' motion but inexplicably gave him 17 days to file his notice of appeal.

In an opinion written by Chief Judge Danny Julian Boggs, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the notice was untimely and that they therefore lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

[1] In this case, a District Court purported to extend a party's time for filing an appeal beyond the period allowed by statute.

[2] The dissenting opinion stated "It is intolerable for the judicial system to treat people this way, and there is not even a technical justification for condoning this bait and switch."