Full Opinion

Opinion issued October 23, 2026 In The Court of Appeals For The First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-26-00964-CR ——————————— JESSICA CHINEYE EZEMBA, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee On Appeal from the County Criminal Court at Law No. 13 Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 2529862 MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellant Jessica Chineye Ezemba pled guilty to driving while intoxicated. After the trial court sentenced her to three days in jail on August 14, 2026, appellant filed a notice of appeal on September 15, 2026. We dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Notice of Appeal A timely notice of appeal is necessary to invoke a court of appeals’ jurisdiction. See Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). In criminal cases, the appellant must file a notice of appeal within 30 days after the day sentence is imposed. See TEX. R. APP. P 26.2(a)(1). The deadline to file a notice of appeal is extended to ninety days after the sentence is imposed if the defendant timely files a motion for new trial. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(2). The time for filing a notice of appeal may be further extended if, within fifteen days of the deadline for filing the notice of appeal, appellant files both a notice of appeal and a motion for extension of time compliant with Rule 10.5(b). See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3; Strange v. State, 258 S.W.3d 184, 187–88 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2007, pet. ref’d) (“The limited, 15-day extended time period applies to both the notice and the motion for extension; both must be filed within the 15-day time period.”). Here, because appellant’s sentence was imposed on August 14, 2026 and a timely motion for new trial was not filed, her notice of appeal was due by September 13, 2026. See TEX. R. APP. P 26.2(a)(1). Because September 13 was a Sunday, the notice of appeal was due Monday, September 14, 2026. See TEX. R. APP. P. 4.1(a). Appellant filed her notice of appeal on September 15—one day after the deadline. No motion to extend the time for filing the notice of appeal was filed within fifteen 2 days of the deadline.1 See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. Accordingly, appellant’s notice of appeal was untimely. This Court has no authority to allow the late filing of a notice of appeal except as provided by Rule 26.3. See Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 522. If an appeal is not timely perfected, then a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal and can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal. See Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Because appellant’s notice of appeal was untimely, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction. We dismiss any other pending motions as moot. PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Adams and Justices Morgan and Johnson. Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). 1 Although in civil cases a notice of appeal filed within the fifteen-day period after the deadline implies a motion for extension of time, the Court of Criminal Appeals has not held that an extension is implied in criminal cases if the notice of appeal is filed within fifteen days after it is due. See Lair v. State, 321 S.W.3d 158, 159 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, pet. ref’d). 3