Jack Cohen v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 10, 2008
• Docket: 13-07-00676-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

NUMBER 13-07-00676-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

______________________________________________________________

JACK COHEN, APPELLANT,

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE.

_____________________________________________________________

On Appeal from the 357th District Court

of Cameron County, Texas.

______________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Rodriguez and Garza

Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam

Appellant, Jack Cohen, appearing pro se, attempted to perfect an appeal from a conviction for forgery. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

The notice of appeal in this matter was not timely filed. It was due to be filed on February 20, 2006, but was not filed until September 27, 2007. See generally Tex. R. App. P. 26.2. On October 31, 2007, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant that it appeared that the appeal was not timely perfected. Appellant was advised that the appeal would be dismissed if the defect was not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of the Court's directive. Appellant's response, in the form of a "brief," fails to address the timeliness of the appeal and fails to establish that this Court has jurisdiction over the appeal. We would further note that the documents before the Court fail to include an appealable order, and the trial court's certification of appellant's right to appeal further fails to show that the appellant has the right to appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2).

This Court's appellate jurisdiction in a criminal case is invoked by a timely filed notice of appeal. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal in a criminal case and can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Appellant may be entitled to an out-of-time appeal by filing a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus returnable to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; however, the availability of that remedy is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 11.07, § 3(a) (Vernon 2005); see also Ex parte Garcia, 988 S.W.2d 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999).

The appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION. PER CURIAM

Do not publish.

See Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).

Memorandum Opinion delivered and

filed this the 10th day of January, 2008.