Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Rene Joe Gonzales filed a notice of appeal on April 6, 2026, challenging the judgment of conviction and sentence entered four days earlier. The trial court certified that Gonzales had entered a plea bargain but retained the right to appeal the juvenile court’s certification of him as an adult.
The original clerk’s record did not include the juvenile court’s transfer order or show when it was signed. After the Fourth Court of Appeals ordered Gonzales to show why the appeal should not be dismissed and to obtain any necessary supplemental records, the district clerk filed a November 1, 2024 order waiving juvenile jurisdiction and transferring Gonzales to criminal district court for prosecution as an adult.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that Gonzales’s notice of appeal was untimely. Under Texas Family Code section 56.01, a juvenile may directly appeal a transfer order when it is entered, and the appeal is accelerated. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1(b) therefore required Gonzales to file his notice of appeal within 20 days after the juvenile court signed the transfer order.
Gonzales filed his notice in criminal district court on April 6, 2026—more than 20 days after the juvenile court signed the transfer order on November 1, 2024. Because a timely notice of appeal was required to invoke appellate jurisdiction, the court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Key Takeaways
- A juvenile-court order transferring a child for adult prosecution is immediately appealable under Texas Family Code section 56.01.
- An appeal from a juvenile-transfer order is accelerated, making the notice of appeal due 20 days after the order is signed.
- Waiting until after conviction to file a notice of appeal does not preserve review of an earlier juvenile-transfer order.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that counsel seeking review of a Texas juvenile-transfer order must act when the juvenile court enters the order. A trial court’s certification recognizing a purported right to appeal cannot overcome an untimely notice or create appellate jurisdiction.