Dismissed and Opinion Filed June 29, 2021
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-21-00473-CR
JERRY DWIGHT BLANEY, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 203rd Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F05-00065-P
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Molberg, Goldstein, and Smith
Opinion by Justice Molberg
On July 18, 2008, a jury found Jerry Dwight Blaney guilty of aggravated
sexual assault of a child under the age of fourteen years and sentenced him to life in
prison and a $10,000 fine. His conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. See Blaney
v. State, No. 05-08-01049-CR, 2011 WL 94704 (Tex. App.—Dallas Jan. 12, 2011,
no pet.) (not designated for publication). On June 22, 2021, he filed a pro se notice
of appeal. We dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
This Court may only review criminal appeals authorized by statute. Ragston
v. State, 424 S.W.3d 49, 52 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); see also TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC.
ANN. art. 44.02 (authorizing defendant’s right to appeal “under the rules hereinafter
prescribed”). Generally, criminal defendants may appeal only from final judgments.
See State v. Sellers, 790 S.W.2d 316, 321 n.4 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990). Unless a
statute expressly grants a right of appeal, interlocutory orders are not appealable. See
Ragston v. State, 424 S.W.3d 49, 52 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); Apolinar v. State, 820
S.W.2d 792, 794 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991).
A defendant perfects his appeal by timely filing a written notice of appeal with
the trial court clerk. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(c). To be timely, the notice of appeal
must be filed within thirty days after the date sentence was imposed or within ninety
days after sentencing if the defendant timely filed a motion for new trial. See TEX.
R. APP. P. 26.2(a). The rules of appellate procedure allow the time to file a notice of
appeal to be extended if the party files, within fifteen days of the filing deadline,
both the notice of appeal and a motion to extend the time to file the notice of appeal.
See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.5(b), 26.3. In the absence of a timely perfected notice of
appeal, the Court must dismiss the appeal. Ex parte Castillo, 369 S.W.3d 196, 198
(Tex. Crim. App. 2012); Slaton v. State, 981S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App.
1998).
Appellant’s notice of appeal states he “filed a case” in April 2021 in the trial
court under “Discovery – subpoena. Actual Innocence – Capital crimes” but that the
“court clerk refused to file [his] case.” He is “guessing” his case is “denied or
dismissed” and concedes he has no case number out of the trial court. Without a final
judgment or appealable order from the trial court, there is nothing to appeal, and this
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Court lacks jurisdiction to take any action. And appellant’s June 2021 notice of
appeal is untimely as to his original conviction.
Under these circumstances, we have no other option than to dismiss this
appeal.
/Ken Molberg//
KEN MOLBERG
JUSTICE
210473f.u05
Do Not Publish
TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b)
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Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
JERRY DWIGHT BLANEY, On Appeal from the 203rd Judicial
Appellant District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F05-00065-P.
No. 05-21-00473-CR V. Opinion delivered by Justice
Molberg. Justices Goldstein and
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee Smith participating.
Based on the Court’s opinion of this date, we DISMISS this appeal.
Judgment entered this 29th day of June, 2021.
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