Opinion
01-22-00552-CV
10-04-2022
IN THE INTEREST OF S.M.G., A CHILD
On Appeal from the 314th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2015-07311J
Panel consists of Justices Goodman, Countiss, and Farris.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM.
On July 25, 2022, appellant, mother, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's January 5, 2017 order terminating her parental rights to her minor child, S.M.G.
We dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
At the outset, we note that this is appellant's second appeal from the trial court's January 5, 2017 order terminating mother's parental rights. Appellant previously appealed from the trial court's January 5, 2017 order on January 23, 2017, which was affirmed by this Court. See In re S.M.G., No. 01-17-00056-CV, 2017 WL 2806332, at *9 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] June 29, 2017, pet. denied) (mem. op.). Appellant is not entitled to a second appeal from the trial court's January 5, 2017 order. See In re M.F., No. 01-13-00268-CV, 2013 WL 2948369, at *1 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] June 13, 2013, no pet.) (mem. op.).
Further, absent a timely filed notice of appeal, the Court lacks jurisdiction to address the merits of an appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.1. Generally, a notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after a judgment is signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a). However, an appeal in a termination-of-parental-rights case, as here, is an accelerated appeal. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 263.405(a); Tex.R.App.P. 28.4(a)(1). In an accelerated appeal, a notice of appeal must be filed within twenty days after the trial court's judgment or order is signed. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b); see also In re K.A.F., 160 S.W.3d 923, 927 (Tex. 2005) (in accelerated appeal, "deadline for filing a notice of appeal is strictly set at twenty days after the judgment is signed, with no exceptions").
The trial court signed the order terminating mother's parental rights on January 5, 2017. Accordingly, appellant's notice of appeal was due to be filed within twenty days of January 5, 2017, on or before January 25, 2017. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b), 28.4(a)(1). Appellant's July 25, 2022 notice of appeal was not timely filed.
On August 2, 2022, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant that the second notice of appeal from the trial court's January 5, 2017 order was not timely filed. Appellant was directed to file a written response demonstrating, with citation to law and the record, that the Court had jurisdiction over her appeal. On August 12, 2022, appellant filed a written response to the Court's notice. However, appellant's response does not show that this Court has jurisdiction over appellant's second, and untimely, appeal from the trial court's January 5, 2017 order terminating her parental rights.
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a), 43.2(f). All pending motions are dismissed as moot.