Opinion
02-23-00293-CR
12-07-2023
Jennifer April Perezmerlo, Appellant v. The State of Texas
Do Not Publish Tex.R.App.P. 47.2(b)
On Appeal from County Criminal Court No. 7 Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 1750339
Before Kerr, Birdwell, and Bassel, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Elizabeth Kerr, Justice
A jury found Appellant Jennifer April Perezmerlo guilty of class-A-misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 49.04(a), (d). On September 19, 2023, the trial court sentenced Perezmerlo to 90 days in jail, suspended for 17 months. Perezmerlo, who had retained counsel at trial, filed a pro se notice of appeal on October 20, 2023, one day late. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1).
Because Perezmerlo's notice of appeal was untimely, we notified her by letter of our concern that we thus lack jurisdiction over this appeal. In our letter, we explained that her notice of appeal was due October 19, 2023, but was filed one day late. See id. We warned Perezmerlo that we would dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction unless, within ten days, she demonstrated that she had timely perfected her appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.2(b), 43.2(f). Ten days have passed, and we have received no response.
A timely filed notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite to perfecting an appeal. See Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996); see also Castillo v. State, 369 S.W.3d 196, 198 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). If a notice of appeal is untimely filed, an appellate court must dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Castillo, 369 S.W.3d at 198. When, as here, a notice of appeal is filed within the 15-day extension period but is unaccompanied by a motion to extend time, an appellate court lacks jurisdiction to dispose of the appeal in any manner other than by dismissing it for want of jurisdiction. Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 523; see Tex. R. App. P. 26.2, 26.3. We thus dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 523; see also Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(f).
Unlike civil appeals, a motion to extend time is not implied when a notice of appeal is filed within the 15-day extension period. See, e.g., Campbell v. State, No. 02-20-00148-CR, 2020 WL 6601607, at *1 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth Nov. 12, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication); Lair v. State, 321 S.W.3d 158, 159 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, pet. ref'd).