IN RE: M. R. (2017)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

M.R., a juvenile who is alleged to have committed delinquent conduct, specifically the felony offenses of theft and tampering with physical evidence, has filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's order waiving its jurisdiction and transferring the cause to the district court for M.R. to stand trial as an adult.¹ This is an accelerated appeal, and thus the notice of appeal was due 20 days after the trial court's order was signed.² However, the record reflects that the trial court's order was signed on August 24, 2016, and M.R. did not file her notice of appeal until November 14, 2016, well beyond the 20-day deadline.

In response to this Court's notice informing M.R. that her notice of appeal appeared to be untimely, counsel for M.R. has provided us with copies of two post-trial motions that she filed in the court below, a motion for reconsideration and a motion for new trial, which counsel contends extended the filing deadline to 90 days from the date of the trial court's order.³ However, “an accelerated appeal is perfected by filing a notice of appeal ․ within the time allowed by Rule 26.1(b) or as extended by Rule 26.3.”⁴ “Filing a motion for new trial, or any other post-trial motion ․ will not extend the time for filing an accelerated appeal.” ⁵ Consequently, M.R.'s notice of appeal is considered untimely and failed to invoke this Court's jurisdiction.⁶ Accordingly, we must dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.⁷

FOOTNOTES

1.   See Tex. Fam. Code § 54.02.

2.   See Tex. R. Civ. P. 26.1(b); see also Tex. Fam. Code § 56.01(h-1) (“The supreme court shall adopt rules accelerating the disposition by the appellate court and the supreme court of an appeal of an order waiving jurisdiction under Section 54.02 and transferring a child to criminal court for prosecution.”); Order Accelerating Juvenile Certification Appeals and Requiring Juvenile Courts to Give Notice of the Right to an Immediate Appeal, Misc. Docket 15-9156 (Tex. Aug. 28, 2015) (effective Sept. 1, 2015) (“Pending the adoption of rules ․ [t]he appeal of an order under Family Code section 54.02 certifying a juvenile to stand trial as an adult is governed by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure applicable to accelerated appeals.”).

3.   See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(a)(1).

4.   Tex. R. App. P. 28.1(b).

5.   Id.; see In re K.A.F., 160 S.W.3d 923, 927 (Tex. 2005) (holding that “in an accelerated appeal, absent a rule 26.3 motion, the deadline for filing a notice of appeal is strictly set at twenty days after the judgment is signed, with no exceptions, and filing a rule 26.1(a) motion for new trial ․ will not extend that deadline.”).

6.   See Tex. R. App. P. 26.1(b), 28.1(b); In re K.A.F., 160 S.W.3d at 927-28.

7.   See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a).

Bob Pemberton, Justice