Opinion
No. 07-16-00172-CV
05-16-2016
IN THE INTEREST OF Q.M., A CHILD
On Appeal from the 364th District Court Lubbock County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2014-510,048, Honorable Kara L. Darnell, Presiding
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before CAMPBELL and HANCOCK and PIRTLE, JJ.
Appellant C.M., appearing pro se, attempts to appeal an order terminating her parental rights to her child, Q.M. We now dismiss the appeal because C.M. failed to comply with a requirement of the Appellate Rules and with an order of this Court. We also dismiss for want of jurisdiction.
C.M. filed a notice of appeal but did not pay the filing fee. See TEX. R. APP. P. 5. By letter of April 15, 2016, we directed C.M. to pay the fee or file an affidavit of indigence by April 25, 2016. The letter further notified C.M. that her appeal would be subject to dismissal without further notice should she fail to comply. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(c). To date, C.M. has not paid the filing fee or filed any response to our April 15 letter.
In addition, C.M. filed her notice of appeal untimely. A timely-filed notice of appeal invokes the appellate jurisdiction of a court of appeals. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.1(b); James v. Houston Hous. Auth., No. 14-14-00673-CV, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 10989, at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Oct. 2, 2014, no pet.) (per curiam) (mem. op.). In an accelerated appeal, the notice of appeal must be filed within 20 days after the judgment or order is signed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). If the notice of appeal is untimely, the court of appeals lacks jurisdiction and must dismiss the appeal. Haase v. Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto and Friend, LLP, 404 S.W.3d 75, 80 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.).
The trial court issued the order of termination on February 11, 2016. C.M.'s notice of appeal was therefore due by March 2, 2016. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(b). This deadline could have been extended to March 17, 2016, had C.M. filed a motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. C.M. did not file her notice of appeal until April 14, 2016. By letter dated April 19, 2016, we notified C.M. that her notice of appeal appeared untimely and ordered C.M. to file a response showing why we had jurisdiction by May 2, 2016. We advised C.M. that failure to do so would result in dismissal of the appeal for want of jurisdiction. C.M. did not respond to the Court's letter.
For these reasons, this appeal is dismissed. TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a), (c).
Per Curiam
See TEX. R. APP. P. 9.8 (protection of minor's identity in parental-rights termination cases).