Mary Roberts' appeal dismissed after missed deadline

Mary Roberts, the San Antonio solo convicted of five counts of theft by deception or coercion for her part in extracting money from four men with whom she had affairs, has lost her chance to appeal her conviction and 10-year probated sentence in an intermediate appellate court.  San Antonio’s 4th Court of Appeals today dismissed the appeal in Roberts v. State because of a missed deadline. According to the 4th Court’s per curiam opinion, Roberts’ notice of appeal, which was due May 21, arrived at the court on May 30, without a motion for extension of time. On June 26, the 4th Court ordered Roberts to show cause why her appeal should not be dismissed. Roberts says she will file a writ of habeas corpus with the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals, seeking permission to file an out-of-time appeal. In 2007, a Bexar County jury convicted Roberts’ husband Ted, also an attorney, on two counts of theft and one count of a continuing course and scheme to commit theft of  $100,000 for threatening to sue two of the men who had affairs with his wife. Judge Sid Harle of the 226th District Court sentenced Ted Roberts to five years in prison. The 4th Court will hear arguments on his appeal Sept. 9.
-- Mary Alice Robbins