$8,898.00 in U.S. Currency v. the State of Texas

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

No. 06-25-00013-CV

$8,898.00 IN U.S. CURRENCY, ET AL., Appellants

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Court at Law Panola County, Texas Trial Court No. 2019-089

Before Stevens, C.J., van Cleef and Rambin, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Rambin MEMORANDUM OPINION

On March 5, 2025, the Panola County District Clerk’s Office filed John Michael Barton’s

notice of appeal from the trial court’s July 26, 2023, Agreed Final Judgment of Forfeiture.

Under Rule 26.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, a “notice of appeal must be filed

within 30 days after the judgment is signed” unless a qualifying post-judgment motion is filed

that extends that deadline to ninety days. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.1(a). Based on the record, there

were no post-judgment motions filed in this matter that extended either deadline; thus, the

deadline for filing a notice of appeal from the trial court’s July 26, 2023, judgment was August

25, 2023. Drawing all reasonable inferences in Barton’s favor based on the record, the earliest

possible date that the notice of appeal in this matter could have been deemed filed was January 8,

2025, which is beyond the deadline established by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.

By letter dated March 19, 2025, we informed Barton of the apparent defect in our

jurisdiction over his appeal and afforded him an opportunity to respond and, if possible, cure

such defect. We warned Barton that, if we did not receive an adequate response within twenty

days of the date of our March 19 letter, we would dismiss his appeal for want of jurisdiction. On

April 9, 2025, Barton responded to our letter, but his response did not include a sufficient

explanation as to how we have jurisdiction over this appeal. As a result, this appeal is ripe for

dismissal.

2 Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.

Jeff Rambin Justice

Date Submitted: April 16, 2025 Date Decided: April 17, 2025