Thaddeus Deshun Papillion v. the State of Texas

• Court: Texas Court of Appeals, 9th District (Beaumont)
• Decided: April 1, 2026
• Docket: 09-26-00073-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

__________________

NO. 09-26-00073-CR __________________

THADDEUS DESHUN PAPILLION, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

__________________________________________________________________

On Appeal from the Criminal District Court Jefferson County, Texas Trial Cause No. 23DCCR0857 __________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Thaddeus Deshun Papillion was indicted for possession of a controlled

substance, a charge to which he pleaded guilty, and on July 9, 2025, the trial court

sentenced him to two years confinement in state jail. Papillion did not file a motion

for new trial within 30 days after the date on which the trial court imposed the

sentence. See Tex. R. App. P. 21.4(a). Notice of appeal was due to be filed on August

8, 2025. See id. 26.2(a)(1). Papillion’s time for filing a motion for extension of time

to perfect his appeal expired on August 25, 2025. See id. 4.1(a), 26.3. A pro se notice

1 of appeal was dated January 30, 2026, mailed in an envelope postmarked February

3, 2026, and received by the District Clerk on February 9, 2026.

On February 13, 2026, the Clerk of the Court notified the parties that the

appeal had been filed outside the time for which an extension of time may be granted

for filing notice of appeal and warned the parties that the appeal would be dismissed

unless grounds were shown for continuing the appeal. Neither Papillion nor the State

responded to the Clerk’s notice.

When a defendant appeals from a conviction in a criminal case, the time to

file a notice of appeal runs from the date sentence is imposed or suspended in open

court. See id. 26.2(a). An appellate court may extend the time to file the notice of

appeal if, within 15 days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, the

defendant files a notice of appeal in the trial court and files a motion for extension

of time in the appellate court. See id. 26.3. Papillion failed to file a notice of appeal

and a motion for an extension of time within the time permitted by the rule. See id.

He does not contend that he has obtained an out-of-time appeal from the Court of

Criminal Appeals.

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).

“Timely filing of a written notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite to hearing

an appeal.” Castillo v. State, 369 S.W.3d 196, 198 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). “If a

2 notice of appeal is not timely filed, the court of appeals has no option but to dismiss

the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.” Id.

The Court finds it is without jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. Accordingly,

we dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(f).

APPEAL DISMISSED.

PER CURIAM

Submitted on March 31, 2026 Opinion Delivered April 1, 2026 Do Not Publish

Before Johnson, Wright and Chambers, JJ.