NUMBER 13-10-00692-CR
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG
____________________________________________________________
JUAN ALBERTO PEREZ, Appellant,
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.
____________________________________________________________
On appeal from the 105th District Court
of Kleberg County, Texas.
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Garza, Benavides, and Vela
Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam
Appellant, Juan Alberto Perez, attempted to perfect an appeal from a conviction for
engaging in organized criminal activity. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
Sentence in this matter was imposed on July 2, 2010. No motion for new trial was
filed. Notice of appeal was filed on August 31, 2010. On December 29, 2010, 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. On January 12, 2011,
appellant’s counsel responded to the notice by filing a motion for extension of time to file
notice of appeal. The motion states that appellant’s counsel did not timely file a notice of
appeal and that appellant, unaware of the time limitations, filed a notice of appeal on
August 31, 2010.
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). 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 id. 26.3.
Appellant’s notice of appeal was due to have been filed on or before August 2,
2010. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(2). Within the fifteen day time period, appellant did
not file a motion for extension of time to file his notice of appeal and did not file his notice
of appeal.
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). AWhen a
notice of appeal is filed within the fifteen-day period but no timely motion for extension of
time is filed, the appellate court lacks jurisdiction.@ Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 522. 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
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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).
Appellant’s motion for extension of time to file notice of appeal is DENIED. The
appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION.
PER CURIAM
Do not publish.
TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
Delivered and filed the
10th day of March, 2011.
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