Brown v. State — Dismissed an untimely appeal from the denial of post-conviction DNA testing

Unreported / Non-Citable

Background

Anthony Scott Brown, proceeding pro se, sought to appeal the trial court’s order denying his second motion for post-conviction DNA testing. The trial court signed the order on February 25, 2026.

Because Brown did not file a motion for new trial, his notice of appeal was due March 27, 2026—30 days after the order was signed. He filed his notice on August 18, 2026, asserting that he did not receive notice of the order until July 30, 2026.

The Court’s Holding

The court held that a timely written notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite. An appeal from an order resolving a motion for forensic DNA testing proceeds in the same manner as any other criminal appeal, and the appellate court lacked authority to extend the filing deadline.

Because Brown’s notice of appeal was untimely, the court concluded that it had no jurisdiction to consider the appeal and dismissed it for want of jurisdiction. The court noted that Brown might seek an out-of-time appeal through a habeas corpus application returnable to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Key Takeaways

• A notice of appeal from an order denying post-conviction DNA testing generally must be filed within 30 days unless a timely motion for new trial extends the deadline.
• Timely filing of a written notice of appeal is a jurisdictional requirement that the appellate court cannot extend.
• A defendant seeking an out-of-time appeal may pursue habeas corpus relief under article 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

Why It Matters

The decision underscores that delayed receipt of an order does not itself give a Texas appellate court authority to disregard the jurisdictional deadline for a criminal notice of appeal. Once that deadline passes, the appellate court must dismiss rather than reach the merits.

For defendants who learn of an adverse post-conviction DNA ruling after the appeal deadline, the opinion points to an article 11.07 habeas application—not a late direct appeal—as the potential avenue for seeking permission to appeal out of time.