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         $SSHDOIURPWKH8QLWHG6WDWHV'LVWULFW&RXUW                     Hollins. See Frazier v. United States, No. 97-6338, 2000 WL
          IRUWKH1RUWKHUQ'LVWULFWRI2KLRDW7ROHGR                    658072 (6th Cir. May 9, 2000). In Frazier, we dismissed an
         1R²-DPHV*&DUU'LVWULFW-XGJH                      attempt by counsel to blame the tardiness of his client’s
                                                                          habeas petition on a clerk who allegedly provided the attorney
                    $UJXHG-DQXDU\                             with improper filing information. Id. at *1. As we explained,
                                                                          "this court has not subscribed to the Eleventh Circuit’s lenient
             'HFLGHGDQG)LOHG)HEUXDU\                        interpretation of the ‘unique circumstances’ exception." Id.
 %HIRUH1(/621DQG&/$<&LUFXLW-XGJHV+$<1(6                          Second, prior to Osternak, we interpreted Thomson’s
                   'LVWULFW-XGJH                                       holding this way: "[An] appeal would be considered timely
                                                                          because the appellant had done something which would have
                       BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB                                  extended the time for appeal if properly done, and relied on
                                                                          the district court's statement that it was done properly."
                             &2816(/                                      Denley v. Shearson/Am. Express, Inc., 733 F.2d 39, 42 (6th
                                                                          Cir. 1984) (emphasis added). Although one could attempt to
$5*8('  7HUU\ / +RUG $GD 2KLR IRU $SSHOODQW                 interpret "district court" very broadly, to do so would strain
)UHGHULFN * &ORSSHUW -U &/233(57 /$7$1,&.                      the meaning of "district court." Clerks and court personnel
6$87(5 	 :$6+%851 &ROXPEXV 2KLR 'LDQD 6                         work for the district court, they are not the district court.
%URZQ/2*27+(7,63(1&(	'2//'D\WRQ2KLRIRU
$SSHOOHHV  21 %5,()  7HUU\ / +RUG $GD 2KLR IRU               Third, the Supreme Court has only applied the "unique
$SSHOODQW  )UHGHULFN * &ORSSHUW -U &/233(57                   circumstances" doctrine in four cases. See Osternak, 489
/$7$1,&.6$87(5	:$6+%851&ROXPEXV2KLR                              U.S. 169, Wolfsohn v. Hankin, 376 U.S. 203 (1964);
'LDQD6%URZQ-RKQ5'ROO/2*27+(7,63(1&(	                        Thompson, 375 U.S. 384; Harris Truck Lines, Inc. v. Cherry
'2//'D\WRQ2KLRIRU$SSHOOHHV                                        Meat Packers, Inc., 371 U.S. 215 (1962). Each of these cases
                       BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB                                  involved mistaken court rulings or orders rather than poor
                                                                          advice from a court clerk. See Osternak, 489 U.S. at 178;
                           23,1,21                                        Wolfsohn, 376 U.S. at 203-04; Thompson, 375 U.S. at 385-87;
                       BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB                                  Harris Truck Lines, 371 U.S. at 216-17.

  &/$<&LUFXLW-XGJH3ODLQWLII&DUO/DZUHQFHDSSHDOVWKH                Fourth, limiting the phrase "judicial officer" to judges
GHQLDORIKLVUHTXHVWIRUUHOLHIIURPMXGJPHQWSXUVXDQWWR)HG           makes sense because "a formal order or ruling (1) generates
5&LY3EIROORZLQJDQRUGHURIVXPPDU\MXGJPHQW                  the highest level of justifiable reliance, and (2) raises virtually
DJDLQVW/DZUHQFHLQKLVEUHDFKRIGXW\RIIDLUUHSUHVHQWDWLRQ             no possibility of evidentiary problems for appellate courts
FODLPDULVLQJXQGHU86&:H$)),50                          faced with applying the exception." Moore, 100 F.3d at 164.
                                                                          Thus, policy and precedent each point strongly against the
                                                                          lenient "unique circumstances" rule that Lawrence would
                                                                          have this Court adopt.
    
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only where a party has performed an act which, if properly                           %$&.*5281'
done, would postpone the deadline for filing his appeal and
has received specific assurance by a judicial officer that this       /DZUHQFHZRUNHGDVDWUXFNGULYHUIRU'XII7UXFN/LQH
act has been properly done." Osterneck v. Ernst & Whitney,          ,QF DQG LWV VXFFHVVRU 2. 7UXFNLQJ &RPSDQ\ ³2.´
489 U.S. 169, 179 (1989).                                           IURPWKURXJK,QHDUO\2.ZDVVROGWR
                                                                    :LQW]3DUFHO'ULYHUV³:LQW]´/DZUHQFHY,QW¶O%KGRI
   With one exception, every circuit to have considered the         7HDPVWHUV,1R86$SS/(;,6DW
issue has found that the phrase "judicial officer" in Osterneck     WK&LU-DQ7KH,QWHUQDWLRQDO%URWKHUKRRG
refers only to judges. See, e.g. Rezzonico v. H & R Block,          RI 7HDPVWHUV &KDXIIHXUV :DUHKRXVHPHQ DQG +HOSHUV RI
Inc., 182 F.3d 144, 152 (2d Cir. 1999) ("[S]tatements by a          $PHULFD ³,%7´ DQG LWV /RFDO  ZHUH WKH H[FOXVLYH
member of the clerk's office staff are not official judicial        EDUJDLQLQJDJHQWVIRUHPSOR\HHVRI2.7UXFNLQJ,GDW
assurances that qualify as unique circumstances."); Moore v.        ,Q -DQXDU\  /DZUHQFH EHJDQ ILOLQJ JULHYDQFHV ZLWK
South Carolina Labor Bd., 100 F.3d 162, 164 (D.C. Cir.              /RFDODOOHJLQJWKDW2.IDLOHGWRIROORZWKHFROOHFWLYH
1996) ("This case does not qualify for application of the           EDUJDLQLQJDJUHHPHQW³&%$´,G/DZUHQFHDOVRFODLPHG
unique circumstances doctrine because although the                  WKDW:LQW]GLVFKDUJHGKLPLQYLRODWLRQRIWKH&%$ZKLFK
statements made by the clerk's office staff may constitute          UHPDLQHGLQIRUFHDIWHU:LQW]SXUFKDVHG2.,G/DZUHQFH
specific assurances, they cannot fairly be characterized as         GHPDQGHG WKDW 'HIHQGDQWV SURFHVV WKH JULHYDQFHV RQ KLV
official judicial action."); United States v. Heller, 957 F.2d      EHKDOIDQGVHFXUHKLVUHLQVWDWHPHQWDORQJZLWKEDFNSD\DQG
26, 29 (1st Cir. 1992) ("We understand the term ‘judicial           EHQHILWV,G,QKLVFRPSODLQW/DZUHQFHFODLPHG'HIHQGDQWV
officer’ in this context to mean a judge, not an employee in        OHGKLPWREHOLHYHWKH\ZHUHSURFHVVLQJKLVJULHYDQFHVZKHQ
the office of the clerk."); Sonicraft, Inc. v. NLRB, 814 F.2d       LQUHDOLW\WKH\WRRNQRDFWLRQ,GDW
385, 387 (7th Cir. 1987) (reasoning that "judicial officers"
must mean judges because "subordinate employees of the                2Q'HFHPEHU/DZUHQFHILOHGDFRPSODLQWLQWKH
judiciary have no authority to waive congressional limitations      &RXUWRI&RPPRQ3OHDVLQ$OOHQ&RXQW\2KLRDOOHJLQJWKDW
on judicial power").                                                WKH ,QWHUQDWLRQDO %URWKHUKRRG RI 7HDPVWHUV &KDXIIHXUV
                                                                    :DUHKRXVHPHQDQG+HOSHUVRI$PHULFD,%7VRPHRILWV
   In contrast to the weight of the authority, the Eleventh         LQGLYLGXDO RIILFHUV DQG 6WHYHQ :DLWPDQ 3UHVLGHQW RI
Circuit has "decided that the unique circumstances doctrine         7HDPVWHUV /RFDO 8QLRQ 1R  PLVKDQGOHG HOHYHQ
may apply where the appellant is lulled by assurances from          JULHYDQFHV/DZUHQFHILOHGDJDLQVWKLVHPSOR\HU'HIHQGDQWV
the clerk’s office instead of the district court itself." Hollins   UHPRYHG WKH FDVH WR IHGHUDO FRXUW  2Q -XO\   WKH
v. Dep’t of Corr., 191 F.3d 1324, 1328 (11th Cir. 1999). In         GLVWULFW FRXUW JUDQWHG 'HIHQGDQWV¶ PRWLRQV WR GLVPLVV
Hollins, counsel relied on a clerk’s office electronic docket       /DZUHQFH ILOHG D WLPHO\ DSSHDO RQ $XJXVW    7KLV
                                                                    &RXUW DIILUPHG WKH ORZHU FRXUW¶V UXOLQJ DV WR IRXU RI WKH
system to determine, incorrectly, that the court had not yet        JULHYDQFHV EXW UHYHUVHG DV WR WKH UHPDLQLQJ VHYHQ 6HH
filed a final order. Id.                                            /DZUHQFH,86/(;,6
  Even assuming Hollins did not reflect an extreme minority           2Q-XO\WKHGLVWULFWFRXUWRUGHUHGWKDWLWZRXOG
position, there are four reasons to firmly conclude that the        QRWDFFHSWKDUGFRSLHVRISOHDGLQJVXQOHVVSURYLGHGIRULQLWV
"unique circumstances" doctrine does not apply here. First,         (OHFWURQLF3ROLFLHVDQG3URFHGXUHV0DQXDO7KHUHDIWHUWKH
albeit in an unpublished opinion, we have already rejected
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GLVFRYHU DIWHU ILOLQJ DQ DSSHDO WKDW WKH DSSHDO LV XQWLPHO\                VXEVHTXHQWO\H[SODLQHGWKDW"[b]y its terms, Thompson applies
