Background
The 18th District Court of Johnson County entered a judgment terminating the appellant’s parental rights on June 8, 2026.
The appellant filed his notice of appeal on August 27, 2026. After the Tenth Court of Appeals warned that the notice appeared untimely and that the appeal would be dismissed unless the appellant established grounds for continuing it, the appellant responded but did not demonstrate such grounds.
The Court’s Holding
The court held that the notice of appeal was not timely filed under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1(b).
Because the untimely notice left the court without jurisdiction, the court dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction. It did not reach the merits of the parental-rights termination judgment.
Key Takeaways
- A notice of appeal from a parental-rights termination judgment must comply with the accelerated-appeal deadline in Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.1(b).
- The appellant’s response to the court’s timeliness warning did not establish grounds for allowing the appeal to continue.
- The dismissal rested solely on appellate jurisdiction, not on review of the termination judgment’s merits.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that appellate deadlines in parental-rights termination cases are jurisdictionally consequential. Even when fundamental family interests are at stake, an untimely notice of appeal can prevent appellate review altogether.