Stephanie Renee Smith v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: April 4, 2024
• Docket: 06-24-00051-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

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

No. 06-24-00051-CR

STEPHANIE RENEE SMITH, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Court at Law Bowie County, Texas Trial Court No. 22M2076-CCL

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

Stephanie Renee Smith pled guilty to driving while intoxicated (DWI), second offense,

and the trial court adjudicated her guilty, sentenced her to 365 days’ confinement in county jail,

suspended that sentence, and placed Smith on eighteen months’ community supervision. The

trial court also imposed a $2,000.00 general fine and a $4,500.00 “DWI Traffic Fine,” see TEX.

TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 709.001. The trial court certified this to be a plea-bargain case but stated

that it had given Smith permission to appeal. The judgment of conviction in this matter indicates

that the trial court imposed sentence on January 29, 2024; however, the lower court did not sign

its judgment of conviction until February 14, 2024. Smith did not file a motion for new trial and

filed her notice of appeal on March 14, 2024.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has expressly held that, without a timely filed

notice of appeal, we cannot exercise jurisdiction over an appeal. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519,

522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996); see Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 209 n.3 (Tex. Crim. App.

1998) (per curiam). When an appellant appeals from a judgment of conviction, the deadline for

filing her notice of appeal runs from the date sentence is imposed in open court, not the date the

judgment was signed. Rodarte v. State, 860 S.W.2d 108 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993); O’Conner v.

State, 266 S.W.3d 575, 577–78 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2008, pet. ref’d). Thus, Smith’s notice of

appeal in this matter was due thirty days after January 29, 2024, or on or before February 28,

2024. Since Smith did not file her notice of appeal until March 14, 2024, it was untimely.

On March 25, 2024, we notified appellant that her notice of appeal appeared to be

untimely, having been filed more than thirty days after the date sentence was imposed. In

2 response, appellant stated that notice of appeal was timely because it was filed within thirty days

after the trial court signed its judgment of conviction. That position is contrary to Rodarte.

Because Smith has not timely perfected her appeal, we dismiss the appeal for want of

jurisdiction.

Jeff Rambin Justice

Date Submitted: April 3, 2024 Date Decided: April 4, 2024

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