In The
Court of Appeals
Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
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No. 06-03-00132-CR
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DAMON EARL LEWIS, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 8th Judicial District Court
Hopkins County, Texas
Trial Court No. 0216855
Before Morriss, C.J., Ross and Carter, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Justice Carter
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Damon Earl Lewis attempts to appeal his conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child. Lewis was convicted by a jury and sentenced to ninety-nine years' imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault and twenty years' imprisonment for indecency with a child. The issue before us is whether Lewis timely filed his notice of appeal. We conclude he did not and dismiss the attempted appeal for want of jurisdiction.
On the issue of whether Lewis timely perfected his appeal, the record establishes: (1) Lewis' sentence was imposed in open court on December 11, 2002; (2) Lewis filed a motion for new trial on December 16, 2002; and (3) Lewis' notice of appeal was not filed until July 1, 2003.
A timely notice of appeal is necessary to invoke this Court's jurisdiction. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Rule 26.2(a) prescribes the time period in which a notice of appeal must be filed by a defendant in order to perfect an appeal in a criminal case. A defendant's notice of appeal is timely if filed within thirty days after the day sentence is imposed or suspended in open court, or within ninety days after sentencing if the defendant timely files a motion for new trial. Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a); Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 522. A court of appeals may consider a late notice of appeal timely to invoke jurisdiction if: (1) it is filed within fifteen days of the last day allowed for filing; (2) a motion for extension of time is filed in the court of appeals within fifteen days of the last day allowed for filing the notice of appeal; and (3) the court of appeals grants the motion for extension of time. Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 522. Here, none of the criteria listed above were met in the filing of Lewis' notice of appeal.
When a defendant appeals from a conviction in a criminal case, the time to file a notice of appeal runs from the date sentence is imposed or suspended in open court, not from the date sentence is signed and entered by the trial court. Rodarte v. State, 860 S.W.2d 108, 109 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). The last date allowed for Lewis to timely file his notice of appeal was March 11, 2003, ninety days after the day sentence was imposed in open court. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1). Because Lewis did not file his notice of appeal until July 1, 2003, he failed to perfect this appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
Jack Carter
Justice
Date Submitted: August 13, 2003
Date Decided: August 14, 2003
Do Not Publish
to Jaramillo's petition for writ of mandamus. The trial court has now informed us that it vacated the order denying Jaramillo's application to proceed as an indigent. The trial court also, however, dismissed Jaramillo's case, without prejudice, for want of jurisdiction. The trial court did so after determining the value of damages being sought in Jaramillo's petition was $120.00, an amount that is below the $500.00 minimum threshold for civil cases filed in a statutory county court. See Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 25.003(c)(1) (Vernon 2004).
Because the trial court has vacated the disputed order, and because there is no longer a case or controversy related to the underlying petition for writ of mandamus, we dismiss Jaramillo's petition as moot.
Donald R. Ross
Justice
Date Submitted: May 16, 2005
Date Decided: May 17, 2005