TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

NO. 03-19-00009-CR NO. 03-19-00010-CR

Olishea Lashawn Smith, Appellant v. The State of Texas, Appellee

FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BELL COUNTY, 27TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT NOS. 77263 & 77264, THE HONORABLE JOHN GAUNTT, JUDGE PRESIDING

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Olishea Lashawn Smith seeks to appeal from two judgments of conviction for murder. See Tex. Penal Code § 19.02(b)(1).

Rule 26.2 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that an appeal is perfected in a criminal case when notice of appeal is filed within 30 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). Compliance with Rule 26—the timely filing of a notice of appeal—is essential to vest this Court with jurisdiction. See Castillo v. State, 369 S.W.3d 196, 198 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012); Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).

In each of these cases, the trial court imposed sentence on December 3, 2018. No motion for new trial was filed. The deadline for perfecting appeal, therefore, was January 2, 2019.

See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1). Appellant filed her notice of appeal in each of these cases on January 3, 2019. Thus, appellant’s notices of appeal are untimely.

Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, we do not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of an appeal in a criminal case and can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Castillo, 369 S.W.3d at 198; Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 210. Accordingly, these appeals are dismissed.

__________________________________________ Melissa Goodwin, Justice Before Justices Goodwin, Baker, and Triana Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction Filed: February 7, 2019 Do Not Publish