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Jeena Roberts v. State
Citation: Not availableDocket: 07-13-00214-CR
Court: Court of Appeals of Texas; July 23, 2013; Texas; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
Jeena Roberts was convicted of two offenses: intoxicated assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury, for which she received an eight-year sentence, and intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle, resulting in a fifteen-year sentence. Both sentences were imposed on January 21, 2013, following guilty pleas. The trial court indicated that these cases were plea-bargain agreements with no right to appeal. Roberts filed motions for new trials and subsequently submitted notices of appeal on July 10, 2013. She claimed she was misled regarding her right to appeal, believing she had no right because of the signed documents. However, under Texas law, a timely notice of appeal is a jurisdictional requirement. The appeals court determined that the notices of appeal were not filed within the required timeframe, which would be within ninety days of sentencing, or by May 6, 2013, if considering a fifteen-day extension for filing. The notices submitted on July 10, 2013, were therefore untimely. As a result, the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeals for lack of jurisdiction, stating that they cannot extend the time to file a notice of appeal. It noted that while the dismissal precludes the current appeal, Roberts may pursue relief through a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus for an out-of-time appeal.