Lawrence Joseph Gall v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: August 2, 2023
• Docket: 04-23-00578-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas MEMORANDUM OPINION No. 04-23-00578-CR

Lawrence Joseph GALL, Appellant

v.

The STATE of Texas, Appellee

From the 437th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2021CR8257 Honorable Joel Perez, Judge Presiding

PER CURIAM

Sitting: Beth Watkins, Justice Liza A. Rodriguez, Justice Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice

Delivered and Filed: August 2, 2023

DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION

The trial court imposed sentence in the underlying cause on March 23, 2023. Because

appellant did not file a motion for new trial, the notice of appeal was due to be filed on April 22,

2023. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). A motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal was

due on May 7, 2023. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. Appellant filed notices of appeal on May 30, 2023 and

June 1, 2023 and filed a motion for extension of time on May 31, 2023. Because the notice of

appeal was untimely filed, this court ordered appellant to show cause in writing why this appeal

should not be dismissed for want of jurisdiction. On July 12, 2023, appellant’s appointed counsel 04-23-00578-CR

filed a response that did not dispute that the notice of appeal was untimely but explained that

counsel was not appointed until June 1, 2023.

A timely notice of appeal is necessary to invoke a court of appeals’s jurisdiction. See Olivo

v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). A late notice of appeal may be considered

timely so as to invoke a court of appeals’s jurisdiction if (1) it is filed within fifteen days of the

last day allowed for filing, (2) a motion for extension of time is filed in the court of appeals within

fifteen days of the last day allowed for filing the notice of appeal, and (3) the court of appeals

grants the motion for extension of time. Id. Because appellant did not file a timely notice of appeal

or request for extension of time to file a notice of appeal, this appeal is dismissed for want of

jurisdiction. See id.; see also Ater v. Eighth Court of Appeals, 802 S.W.2d 241, 243 (Tex. Crim.

App. 1991) (out-of-time appeal from final felony conviction may be sought by filing writ of habeas

corpus pursuant to article 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure).

DO NOT PUBLISH

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