Leonard Henderson v. State











NUMBER 13-07-00753-CR



COURT OF APPEALS



THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS



CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

______________________________________________________________

LEONARD HENDERSON, APPELLANT,



v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE.

_____________________________________________________________



On Appeal from the 105th District Court

of Nueces County, Texas.

______________________________________________________________



MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Rodriguez, Garza, and Vela

Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam



Appellant, Leonard Henderson, attempted to perfect an appeal from a conviction for aggravated robbery. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

The trial court denied appellant's second motion for DNA testing on May 23, 2007. Notice of appeal was not filed until July 16, 2007. On January 24, 2008, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant that it appeared that the appeal was not timely perfected. The Clerk further advised appellant 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 the Court's 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 the trial court enters an appealable order. Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1). 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 June 22, 2007. 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 July 16, 2007 .

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. 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).

Accordingly, the appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION.



PER CURIAM

Do not publish. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).



Memorandum Opinion delivered

and filed this the 13th day of March, 2008.