In the Interest of C.L.J., et al. v. << (2016)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Tashayla Jackson seeks to appeal from a final order terminating her parental rights. An appeal from such an order is accelerated.  See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 263.405.  The trial court entered the final order of termination on December 4, 2015.  Because this is an accelerated appeal, the notice of appeal was due on December 28, 2015.  See Tex.R.App. P. 26.1(b) (requiring notice of appeal to be filed within twenty days after the judgment is signed in an accelerated appeal;  filing of a motion for new trial does not extend the appellate deadline).  A motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal was therefore due on January 12, 2016. See Tex.R.App. P. 26.3(providing a fifteen-day grace period after the deadline for filing notice of appeal).  Appellant filed her notice of appeal on January 29, 2016, well after the deadlines for filing the notice of appeal and motion for extension of time to file the notice of appeal had expired. See id.  Once the period for granting a motion for extension of time under Rule 26.3 has passed, a party can no longer invoke the appellate court's jurisdiction.  Verburgt v. Dorner, 959 S.W.2d 615, 617 (Tex.1997).

On March 2, 2016, this court ordered appellant to show cause in writing within thirty days why this appeal should not be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.  Appellant responded by providing an explanation for the late filing of the notice of appeal, contending it constitutes a reasonable explanation warranting our retention of the appeal.  However, provision of a reasonable explanation for filing a late notice of appeal operates as an implied motion for extension only when the notice of appeal was filed during the fifteen-day grace period for filing an extension.  Id. Here, the fact that appellant's notice of appeal was filed after expiration of the fifteen-day grace period for requesting an extension deprives this court of jurisdiction in this matter.  Id. Accordingly, the appeal must be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.  See Tex.R.App. P. 42.3(a).

PER CURIAM