“ It may be that motions to reconsider based on previously abandoned grounds are not apt to fare well either in the District Court or on appeal to the Court of Appeals. But if such a judgment as to the merits were allowed to play a part in deciding the time in which a denial of the motion may be appealed, it is difficult to see why a similar merits analysis should not be undertaken for all motions for reconsideration. ”

“ The first of these decisions established that a motion for rehearing in a criminal case, like a motion for rehearing in a civil case, renders an otherwise final decision of a district court not final until it decides the petition for rehearing. ”

“ Principles of equitable tolling usually dictate that when a time-bar has been suspended and then begins to run again upon a later event, the time remaining on the clock is calculated by subtracting from the full limitations period whatever time ran before the clock was stopped. See Cada v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 920 F.2d 446 (CA7 1990) (discussing principles of equitable tolling) . Thus, in the present case for example, a motion to reconsider filed after 20 days, if it tolled the 30-day period to appeal, would leave at most only 10 days to appeal once the reconsideration motion was decided. ”