DISMISS and Opinion Filed November 23, 2021
S In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-21-00997-CR
DEREK PAUL RAY SR., Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 2
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F96-51596-I
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Pedersen, III, Goldstein, and Smith
Opinion by Justice Smith
Derek Paul Ray Sr. appeals his conviction for injury to a child. On November
15, 2021, appellant filed his pro se notice of appeal with this Court, stating he was
appealing the trial court’s denial of his motion for judgment nunc pro tunc on back
time credit. We dismiss this appeal.
An appellate court has jurisdiction to determine an appeal only if the appeal
is authorized by law. Abbott v. State, 271 S.W.3d 694, 696‒97 (Tex. Crim. App.
2008). When the appellate court’s jurisdiction is not legally invoked, the court’s
power to act is as absent as if it did not exist. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 523
(Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Appellate courts may consider criminal appeals only after
final conviction or the entry of a narrow set of appealable interlocutory orders. TEX.
R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1); Wright v. State, 969 S.W.2d 588, 589 (Tex. App.—Dallas
1998, no pet.).
Here, appellant seeks to appeal the trial court’s denial of his motion for
judgment nunc pro tunc on back time credit. However, the denial of a nunc pro tunc
on back-time credit is not appealable. See Abbott, 271 S.W.3d at 697 (“In this case,
we have not found any rule or any statutory or constitutional provision that would
authorize appellant’s appeal from the trial court’s post-judgment order denying his
time-credit motion.”). Because there is no rule or statutory or constitutional
provision allowing such an appeal, we conclude we lack jurisdiction. See id.
We dismiss this appeal.
/Craig Smith/
CRAIG SMITH
JUSTICE
Do Not Publish
TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b)
210997F.U05
–2–
S
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
DEREK PAUL RAY SR., Appellant On Appeal from the Criminal District
Court No. 2, Dallas County, Texas
No. 05-21-00997-CR V. Trial Court Cause No. F96-51596-I.
Opinion delivered by Justice Smith.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee Justices Pedersen, III and Goldstein
participating.
Based on the Court’s opinion of this date, we DISMISS this appeal for want
of jurisdiction.
Judgment entered November 23, 2021
–3–