James Bates v. the State of Texas ( 2022 )

In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-22-00275-CR
JAMES BATES, APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 137th District Court
Lubbock County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2021-423,086, Honorable John J. “Trey” McClendon III, Presiding
November 2, 2022
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before QUINN, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Appellant, James Bates, appeals his conviction for continuous sexual abuse of a
child1 and sentence to fifty years’ confinement. We dismiss the untimely appeal for want
of jurisdiction and because Appellant has no right of appeal.
The 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). In a
1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.02.
criminal case, the notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after sentence is
imposed or suspended or within ninety days if the defendant timely files a motion for new
trial. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a). If a notice of appeal is not timely filed, an appellate court
has no option but to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Castillo, 369 S.W.3d at
198.
The trial court sentenced Appellant on October 15, 2021. Because no motion for
new trial was filed, a notice of appeal was due within thirty days after sentencing, by
November 15, 2021. See TEX. R. APP. P. 4.1(a), 26.2(a). Appellant filed a notice of appeal
on September 30, 2022. Thus, Appellant’s untimely notice of appeal prevents this Court
from acquiring jurisdiction over the appeal.
Further, under Rule of Appellate Procedure 25.2(d), we are required to dismiss an
appeal “if a certification that shows the defendant has the right of appeal has not been
made part of the record.” Here, the trial court’s certification of Appellant’s right of appeal
indicates that this is a plea-bargain case with no right of appeal and that Appellant has
waived the right of appeal. The certification comports with the record before the Court.
By letter of October 4, 2022, we notified Appellant of the consequences of his late
notice of appeal and the trial court’s certification and directed him to show how the Court
has jurisdiction over the appeal by October 14. Appellant has not filed a response or had
any further communication with this Court to date.
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction and based on the trial
court’s certification.
Per Curiam
Do not publish.
2