COURT OF APPEALS

EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

EL PASO, TEXAS

JOHN FOX,                                                         )

                                                                              )              No.  08-03-00500-CR

Appellant,                          )

                                                                              )                 Appeal from the

v.                                                                           )

                                                                              )         Municipal Court of Appeals

THE STATE OF TEXAS,                                     )

                                                                              )          of El Paso County, Texas

Appellee.                           )

                                                                              )             (TC# 03-MCA-2871)

                                                                              )

MEMORANDUM  OPINION

This is an attempted appeal from a judgment by the Municipal Court of Appeals of the City of El Paso that dismissed Appellant=s appeal from the Municipal Court Number Two, City of El Paso , which had dismissed the citation against Appellant John Fox for failing to maintain financial responsibility.  In its opinion, the Municipal Court of Appeals found that it had no jurisdiction over the appeal because there was no conviction of Appellant and thereby dismissed the appeal.  The issue before us is whether Appellant timely filed his notice of appeal to this Court.  We conclude that he did not and dismiss the attempted appeal for want of jurisdiction.

The Municipal Court of Appeals signed its judgment dismissing Appellant=s appeal for want of jurisdiction on October 27, 2003.  On November 25, 2003, Appellant filed his notice of appeal to the municipal court clerk, which this Court received on November 26, 2003.  See Tex.Gov=t Code Ann. ' 30.049 (Vernon 1988).

A timely notice of appeal is necessary to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court.  See Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996).  Section 30.073(b) of the Texas Government Code provides:

To perfect an appeal from a decision of the appellate court to the court of appeals, an appellant must file a written notice of appeal in the appellate court:

(1)        not later than the 10th day after the final ruling on a motion for rehearing; or

(2)        if there is no motion for rehearing, not later than the 10th day after the rendition of the decision.

Tex.Gov=t Code Ann. ' 30.073(b); see also Tex.Gov=t Code Ann. ' 30.032.

No motion for rehearing was filed in this case, therefore Appellant=s written notice of appeal to this Court is timely if filed with the Municipal Court of Appeals no later than ten days after the rendition of the appellate court=s decision.  The last date allowed for timely filing of the notice of appeal was November 6, 2003.  Appellant did not file his notice of appeal until November 25, 2003.  Therefore, Appellant failed to perfect this appeal.  Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

January 29, 2004

DAVID WELLINGTON CHEW, Justice

Before Panel No. 3

Barajas, C.J., Larsen, and Chew, JJ.

(Do Not Publish)