Steve Wayne Baker v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 16, 2025
• Docket: 10-24-00377-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE TENTH COURT OF APPEALS

No. 10-24-00377-CR

STEVE WAYNE BAKER, Appellant v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

From the 413th District Court Johnson County, Texas Trial Court No. DC-F202300259

MEMORANDUM OPINION

On December 4, 2024, Steve Wayne Baker filed with the trial court clerk a pro se

“Motion for Out of Time Appeal” from the trial court’s judgment of conviction in this

case. That same day, the trial court clerk delivered a copy of Baker’s motion to this Court,

which we filed in this cause as a notice of appeal because the document showed Baker’s

desire to appeal from the trial court’s judgment of conviction. See TEX. R. APP. P.

25.2(c)(2). Sentence was imposed in this case on October 20, 2023. Baker’s notice of appeal is

therefore untimely, and we have no jurisdiction of an untimely appeal. See id. R. 26.2(a);

Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (no appellate jurisdiction where

notice of appeal is untimely). Furthermore, neither the trial court nor this Court has

authority to grant an out-of-time appeal. The exclusive post-conviction remedy in final

felony convictions in Texas courts is through a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to article

11.07 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3;

Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 525 n.8.

Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed. Additionally, the request for an extension

of time to file the clerk’s record, filed on December 16, 2024, and Baker’s request for

appointment of appellate counsel, filed on December 27, 2024, are dismissed as moot.

MATT JOHNSON Chief Justice

Before Chief Justice Johnson, Justice Smith, and Justice Harris Dismissed Opinion delivered and filed January 16, 2025 Do not publish [CRPM]

Baker v. State Page 2