Court Opinion

ID: 3070784
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2015-10-16 00:29:36.973656+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:04:21.251624
License: Public Domain

NUMBER 13-15-00206-CR

                            COURT OF APPEALS

                  THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

                     CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG
____________________________________________________________

JOHNNY VELASQUEZ,                                                            Appellant,

                                           v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS,                                 Appellee.
____________________________________________________________

             On appeal from the 347th District Court
                   of Nueces County, Texas.
____________________________________________________________

                         MEMORANDUM OPINION
     Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Rodriguez and Longoria
                    Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam

      Appellant, Johnny Velasquez, attempted to perfect an appeal from a conviction for

possession with intent to deliver cocaine. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

      Sentence in this matter was imposed on December 4, 2014. No motion for new

trial was filed. Notice of appeal was filed on February 17, 2015. On May 4, 2015, the

Clerk of this Court notified appellant that it appeared that the appeal was not timely
perfected. Appellant was advised that the appeal would be dismissed if the defect was

not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of the Court’s directive. Appellant

has not responded to this notice.

        Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.2 provides that an appeal is perfected when

notice of appeal is filed within thirty days after the day sentence is imposed or suspended

in open court unless a motion for new trial is timely filed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1).

Where a timely motion for new trial has been filed, notice of appeal shall be filed within

ninety days after the sentence is imposed or suspended in open court. TEX. R. APP. P.

26.2(a)(2). The time within which to file the notice may be enlarged if, within fifteen days

after the deadline for filing the notice, the party files the notice of appeal and a motion

complying with Rule 10.5(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. See TEX. R.

APP. P. 26.3.

        Appellant’s notice of appeal was due to have been filed on or before January 5,

2015.1 See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(2). Appellant did not file a motion for extension of

time to file his notice of appeal as permitted by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3

and did not file his notice of appeal until February 17, 2015.

        This Court's appellate jurisdiction in a criminal case is invoked by a timely filed

notice of appeal. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Absent

a timely filed notice of appeal, a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address

the merits of the appeal in a criminal case and can take no action other than to dismiss

the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App.

        1  Because the thirtieth day fell on a Saturday, appellant had until the following Monday, January 5,
2015 to file the notice of appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 4.1.
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1998). Appellant may be entitled to an out-of-time appeal by filing a post-conviction writ

of habeas corpus returnable to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; however, the

availability of that remedy is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court. See TEX. CODE CRIM.

PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3(a) (Vernon 2005); see also Ex parte Garcia, 988 S.W.2d 240

(Tex. Crim. App. 1999).

      The appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION.

                                                                     PER CURIAM

Do not publish.
See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

Delivered and filed the
28th day of May, 2015.

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