Cite as: 507 U. S. 234 (1993)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
the very least, the result is an increase in the court's docket and a blow to docket organization and predictability. This disruption to the management of the court's docketing procedures is qualitatively different from delay caused by other factors like settlement by the parties. Unlike the fugitive's case, the settled case will not turn up as an additional and unexpected case on the court's docket some time down the road. And of course, the burden of delay increases exponentially with the number of defendants who abscond preappeal, but are recaptured and invoke the appellate court's jurisdiction in a timely manner. The Court fails to explain how this obvious delay somehow disappears when the defendant is recaptured before invoking the appellate court's jurisdiction.
As is demonstrated by the instant case, the delay caused by preappeal flight can thwart the administration of justice by forcing a severance, requiring duplication of precious appellate resources, and raising the specter of inconsistent judgments. Here, the appellate process was delayed by approximately 19 months (counting both the period of fugitivity and the time used by the District Court to resentence petitioner). During this delay, the Eleventh Circuit heard and decided the appeals filed by petitioner's codefendants. United States v. Mieres-Borges, 919 F. 2d 652 (1990), cert. denied, 499 U. S. 980 (1991). Because petitioner fled, the Eleventh Circuit was unable to consolidate petitioner's appeal with those filed by his codefendants and conserve judicial resources. In addition to forcing a severance, petitioner's flight created a real possibility of inconsistent judgments. Petitioner's flight "imposed exactly the same burden of duplication on the court of appeals that it would have if he had filed his notice of appeal before absconding." Brief for United States 21. Had petitioner's counsel filed a notice of appeal on petitioner's behalf while he remained at large, the Court of Appeals could have dismissed the appeal with prejudice. See Molinaro, 396 U. S., at 366. Since petitioner's flight had an adverse effect on the proper functioning of
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