Quinn McGary, Appellant v. The State of Texas, Appellee (2016)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Quinn McGary pled guilty in 1993 to delivery of a controlled substance as part of a negotiated plea agreement with the State.  That plea was accepted by the 5th Judicial District Court of Cass County, and McGary's sentence for that crime was imposed by the trial court on November 29, 1993.  Based on the November 22, 2015, notice of appeal filed with the Cass County District Clerk's Office, McGary is now attempting to perfect a direct appeal from the trial court's 1993 judgment of conviction.  The issue before us is whether McGary properly invoked this Court's jurisdiction by timely perfecting his appeal.  We conclude that McGary's notice of appeal was not timely filed and, as a result, dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

A timely filed notice of appeal is necessary to invoke this Court's jurisdiction.  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).  Rule 26.2 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure prescribes the time period in which a notice of appeal must be filed to perfect an appeal in a criminal case.  Tex.R.App. P. 26.2.  A criminal defendant's notice of appeal is timely if filed within thirty days after the date sentence is imposed or suspended or within ninety days after sentencing if the defendant timely files a motion for new trial.  Tex.R.App. P. 26.2(a)(1), (2);  Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 522;  see Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 209 n.3.

In this case, the deadline for McGary to file a notice of direct appeal from the trial court's November 29, 1993, judgment of conviction was December 29, 1993.  See Tex.R.App. P. 26.2(a)(1).  The notice of appeal in this matter was quite obviously filed well after that deadline and is, therefore, untimely.

By letter dated February 11, 2016, we notified McGary of this potential defect in our jurisdiction and afforded him an opportunity to respond.  McGary did not file a response.

In light of the foregoing, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Burgess