in the Interest of B.J.M., a Minor Child

In The
Court of Appeals
Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
No. 06-17-00111-CV
IN THE INTEREST OF B.J.M., A MINOR CHILD
On Appeal from the 402nd District Court
Wood County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2017-622
Before Morriss, C.J., Moseley and Burgess, JJ.
Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Morriss
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Brandi Nicole Mizzles appeals from the trial court’s temporary orders entered on
November 2, 2017, in this suit affecting the parent-child relationship.
Our jurisdiction, as an appellate court, is constitutional and statutory in nature. See TEX.
CONST. art. V, § 6; TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 22.220 (West Supp. 2017). Stated differently, in the
absence of a specific grant of jurisdiction by the Texas Constitution or the Texas Legislature, an
appellate court lacks jurisdiction to act. The question, then, is whether either the Texas
Constitution or the Texas Legislature has granted this Court jurisdiction to hear the type of
interlocutory appeal that Mizzles has noticed. The trial court’s November 2 temporary orders do
not constitute a final order, and do not appear to fall within any of the categories of appealable
interlocutory orders. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(a)(1)–(12) (West Supp.
2017); Hernandez v. Dep’t of Family & Protective Servs., 392 S.W.3d 188 (Tex. App.—El Paso
2012, no pet.). Consequently, it appears that we are without jurisdiction to hear this appeal. See
Pina v. Shaw, No. 01-03-00088-CV, 2004 WL 306096, at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]
Feb. 19, 2004, no pet.) (mem. op.) (dismissing similar appeal for want of jurisdiction, citing
Section 105.001(e) of the Texas Family Code).
By letter of December 18, 2017, we informed Mizzles of this potential defect in our
jurisdiction and afforded her the opportunity to demonstrate proper grounds for our retention of
the appeal. Mizzles did not file a response to our letter.
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In light of the foregoing, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
Josh R. Morriss, III
Chief Justice
Date Submitted: January 22, 2018
Date Decided: January 23, 2018
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