Opinion
No. 10-17-00099-CR
04-26-2017
RUTHEN JAMES WEEMS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
From the 54th District Court McLennan County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2015-229-C2
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Ruthen James Weems filed a notice of appeal in the trial court on March 22, 2017. The trial court had imposed sentence on February 15, 2017, and Weems did not file a motion for new trial. See TEX. R. APP. P. 21.4(a) (time to file motion for new trial). Thus, the thirty-day deadline for perfecting the appeal was March 17, 2017. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a) (time to file notice of appeal). Weems's notice of appeal was untimely.
Appellate courts may extend the time to file the notice of appeal if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, the party: (a) files in the trial court the notice of appeal; and (b) files in the appellate court a motion for extension of time to file a notice of appeal. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. However, although Weems's notice of appeal was filed within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, he did not timely file with this Court his motion for extension of time.
On March 22, 2017, Weems filed in the trial court a motion for extension of time to file his notice of appeal. But we have no authority to rule on a timely motion filed in another court when that court has no authority to act on the motion. In re J.A., 53 S.W.3d 869, 872 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2001, no pet.). And a trial court is without authority to extend the deadline to file a notice of appeal under Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3 because the rule expressly reserves that determination for the court of appeals. Id.; see TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. On April 6, 2017, Weems also filed in this Court a motion for extension of time to file his notice of appeal. But the deadline for filing a motion for extension of time to file notice of appeal was April 3, 2017. See TEX. R. APP. P. 4.1(a), 26.2(a), 26.3.
The certificate of service on the motion states that the date of service was March 5, 2017; however, based on the date that we received the motion, we presume the actual date of service to be April 5, 2017.
In light of the foregoing, we lack jurisdiction to dispose of this appeal in any manner other than by dismissing it for want of jurisdiction. See Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998) (reaffirming Olivo after 1997 amendment of procedural rules); Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 523 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (holding that appellate court may only dismiss purported appeal for lack of jurisdiction when notice of appeal is filed within fifteen-day period but no motion for extension of time is filed within that period). Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. We likewise dismiss the untimely motion for extension of time.
REX D. DAVIS
Justice Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis, and Justice Scoggins
Appeal dismissed
Opinion delivered and filed April 26, 2017
Do not publish
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