DONNIE HARDIN v. THE STATE OF TEXAS (2017)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant, Donnie Hardin, pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony offense of possession of child pornography, with the agreed punishment recommendation that he receive four years' confinement.¹ On September 6, 2016, in accordance with the terms of his plea bargain with the State, the trial court found appellant guilty and assessed his punishment at four years' confinement.² Appellant did not file his pro se notice of appeal until October 27, 2016. Appellant also filed a pro se letter-motion requesting an extension of time to pay for the reporter's record fee and requesting the appointment of appellate counsel in this Court. We dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction and dismiss the motions as moot.

A criminal defendant's notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after the sentence is imposed, if the defendant has not filed a motion for new trial. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). A notice of appeal that complies with the requirements of rule 26 is essential to vest the court of appeals with jurisdiction. See Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522–23 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). If an appeal is not timely perfected, a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal. See Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 210.

Here, the trial court signed appellant's judgment of conviction on September 6, 2016, and imposed the sentence on that date. Appellant did not timely file a motion for new trial or an extension of time to file a notice of appeal, making his notice of appeal due by October 6, 2016. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). Appellant's notice of appeal was not filed until October 27, 2016, more than thirty days after the judgment was signed. See id. Thus, under these circumstances, we can take no action other than to dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.³ See Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 210; Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 526.

Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 43.2(f). We dismiss all pending motions as moot.

FOOTNOTES

1.   See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 43.26(a)(1), (d) (West Supp. 2016).

2.   See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 12.34(a) (West Supp. 2016).

3.   Moreover, even if appellant had timely appealed, this appeal must be dismissed because the trial court's certification stated that this was a plea-bargained case and that he had no right of appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2), (d). The clerk's record, filed in this Court on November 17, 2016, supports the trial court's certification. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).

PER CURIAM