Opinion
NO. 14-16-00944-CV
03-30-2017
JESSICA ANNIE BEAVERS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 263rd District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1516008
ORDER
This is an appeal from a final judgment of forfeiture of certain gambling devices, equipment, and proceeds. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 18.18(b). A statutory proceeding for the forfeiture of personal property is an in rem proceeding, not against the owner but against the property itself. Though authorized by the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is a civil proceeding because it does not involve the conviction of the property's owner or possessor. State v. Rumfolo, 545 S.W.2d 752, 754 (Tex. 1976); Gambling Paraphernalia, Devices, Equipment & Proceeds v. State, 22 S.W.3d 625, 627 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2000).
The judgment of forfeiture was signed July 29, 2016. Appellant timely filed a post judgment motion. Accordingly, the notice of appeal was due October 27, 2016, which is 90 days after the judgment was signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1. Appellant, however, filed her notice of appeal on November 3, 2016, a date within 15 days of the due date for the notice of appeal.
A motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal in a civil case is necessarily implied when the notice (Tex. 1997). Appellant did not file a motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal. While an extension may be implied, appellant is still obligated to come forward with a reasonable explanation to support the late filing. See Miller v. Greenpark Surgery Center Assocs., Ltd., 974 S.W.2d 805, 808 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, no pet.).
Accordingly, we ORDER appellant to file a proper motion to extend time to file the notice of appeal on or before April 10, 2017. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3; 10.5(b). If appellant does not comply with this order, we will dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3.
The State's motion to dismiss remains pending.
PER CURIAM