Ted Darwin Moore v. the State of Texas

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

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NO. 09-23-00383-CR
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TED DARWIN MOORE, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

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On Appeal from the 9th District Court
Montgomery County, Texas
Trial Cause No. 22-10-13402-CR
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MEMORANDUM OPINION

The trial court sentenced Ted Darwin Moore on October 10, 2023. Moore did

not file a motion for new trial. Notice of appeal was due to be filed on November 9,

2023. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1). His time for filing a motion for an extension

of time to perfect his appeal expired on November 27, 2023. See Tex. R. App. P.

4.1(a), 26.3. Moore filed a notice of appeal on December 5, 2023, more than 30 days

after the date the trial court imposed the sentence. On December 7, 2023, Clerk of

the Court notified the parties that the notice of appeal had been filed outside the time

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for which an extension of time may be granted for filing a notice of appeal, and

warned the parties that the appeal would be dismissed unless grounds were shown

for continuing the appeal by December 22, 2023. On December 22, 2023, Moore

filed a motion for extension of time to file notice of appeal on the ground that at the

time the notice was due his counsel was unable to comply with the deadline due to

ongoing health issues.

When a defendant appeals from a conviction in a criminal case, the time to

file a notice of appeal runs from the date sentence is imposed or suspended in open

court. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a). An appellate court may extend the time to file the

notice of appeal if, within 15 days after the deadline for filing the notice of appeal,

the defendant files a notice of appeal in the trial court and files a motion for extension

of time in the appellate court. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.3. Moore failed to file a notice

of appeal and a motion for an extension of time within the time permitted by the rule.

See id.

“Timely filing of a written notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite to

hearing an appeal.” Castillo v. State, 369 S.W.3d 196, 198 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012).

“If a notice of appeal is not timely filed, the court of appeals has no option but to

dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.” Id. Moore does not argue that he obtained

an out-of-time appeal from the Court of Criminal Appeals. We deny the motion for

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leave to file notice of appeal as untimely filed and we dismiss the appeal for lack of

jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 43.2(f).

APPEAL DISMISSED.

PER CURIAM

Submitted on January 30, 2024
Opinion Delivered January 31, 2024
Do Not Publish

Before Golemon, C.J., Horton and Wright, JJ.

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