ADAM FUENTES v. THE STATE OF TEXAS--Appeal from 117th District Court of Nueces County

Annotate this Case

Download PDF

NUMBER 13-08-00741-CR COURT OF APPEALS THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG ______________________________________________________________ ADAM FUENTES, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee. _____________________________________________________________ On appeal from the 117th District Court of Nueces County, Texas. ______________________________________________________________ MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices YaÃ±ez and Benavides Memorandum Opinion Per Curiam Appellant, Adam Fuentes, attempted to perfect an appeal from a conviction for burglary of a habitation. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Sentence in this matter was imposed on March 14, 2008, counsel filed a motion for new trial on April 10, 2008, and notice of appeal was filed on June 17, 2008. On August 10, 2009, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant that it appeared that the appeal was not timely perfected. Appellant was advised that the appeal would be dismissed if the defect was not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of the Court s directive. By response filed on August 17, 2009, counsel indicated that although appellant s notice of appeal was filed during the fifteen day grace period, a motion requesting an extension of time to file the notice of appeal was not made. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.2 provides that an appeal is perfected when notice of appeal is filed within thirty days after the day sentence is imposed or suspended in open court unless a motion for new trial is timely filed. TEX . R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). Where a timely motion for new trial has been filed, notice of appeal shall be filed within ninety days after the sentence is imposed or suspended in open court. TEX . R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(2). The time within which to file the notice may be enlarged if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice, the party files the notice of appeal and a motion complying with Rule 10.5(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. See TEX . R. APP. P. 26.3. Appellant timely filed a motion for new trial. Therefore, his notice of appeal was due to have been filed on or before June 12, 2008. See TEX . R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(2). Appellant did not file a motion for extension of time to file his notice of appeal as permitted by Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.3 and did not file his notice of appeal until June 17, 2008. 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). Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal in a criminal case and can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 2 1998). Appellant may be entitled to an out-of-time appeal by filing a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus returnable to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; however, the availability of that remedy is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court. See TEX . CODE CRIM . PROC . ANN . art. 11.07, § 3(a) (Vernon 2005); see also Ex parte Garcia, 988 S.W.2d 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). The appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION. PER CURIAM Do not publish. See TEX . R. APP. P. 47.2(b). Memorandum Opinion delivered and filed this the 25th day of August, 2009. 3

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.