Opinion
NUMBER 13-13-00486-CV
2013-10-03
ANTHONY W. SPENCER, Appellant, v. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee
On appeal from the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Rodriguez and Garza
Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam
Appellant, Anthony Spencer, proceeding pro se, attempted to perfect an appeal from an order entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division, in civil cause number 2:13-CV-79. On September 10, 2013, the Court of this Court notified appellant that it did not appear that this Court has jurisdiction over the appeal. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. §22.220 (West Supp. 2011). The Clerk of this Court notified appellant of this defect so that steps could be taken to correct the defect, if it could be done. See TEX. R. APP. P. 37.1, 42.3. Appellant was advised that the appeal would be dismissed for want of jurisdiction if the defect was not corrected.
On September 16, 2013, appellant filed a response to the Court's notice asserting that this Court has jurisdiction over this appeal because it arises from a court in Nueces County and the amount in controversy is $8,000.00.
In terms of appellate jurisdiction, each court of appeals has appellate jurisdiction over all civil cases within its district, of which the district courts or county courts have jurisdiction, when the amount in controversy or the judgment rendered exceeds $250, exclusive of interest and costs. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 22.220. In this case, the order appealed from was not from a district or county court, rather it was an order issued by the United States Southern District Court. We are without jurisdiction over the federal courts. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 22.220(a); see also Cuellar v. Livingston, No. 03-13-00304-CV, 2013 WL 4516142, at *1 (Tex. App.—Austin Aug. 22, 2013, no pet.) (mem. op.); Sanchez v. Lucio, No. 13-10-00227-CV, 2010 WL 2862601, at *1 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi July 22, 2010, pet. denied) (per curiam mem. op.).
Appellate jurisdiction is never presumed. Brashear v. Victoria Gardens of McKinney, L.L.C., 302 S.W.3d 542, 546 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2009, no pet.). The Court, having examined and fully considered the documents on file and appellant's response to this Court's notice, is of the opinion that the appeal should be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Accordingly, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
PER CURIAM