In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
________________________
No. 07-13-00084-CR
________________________
EMILY KAY SMIRL, APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from County Court at Law
Randall County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2012-0017-1; Honorable James Anderson, Presiding
August 13, 2013
ABATEMENT AND REMAND
Before QUINN, C.J., and HANCOCK and PIRLTE, JJ.
Following a plea of guilty, Appellant, Emily Kay Smirl, was convicted of driving
while intoxicated and sentenced to three days in county jail and a $1,000 fine. 1 When
the supplemental clerk’s record was filed on August 7, 2013, it came to this Court’s
attention that the Trial Court's Certification of Defendant's Right of Appeal was not
signed by Appellant as required by Rule 25.2(d) of the Texas Rules of Appellate
1
TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 49.04(a) and (b) (W EST SUPP. 2012).
Procedure. 2 Consequently, the certification is defective. See Dears v. State, 154
S.W.3d 610, 614 (Tex.Crim.App. 2005). Additionally, the form does not comply with the
Rule. 3
Consequently, we abate this appeal and remand this cause to the trial court for
further proceedings. Upon remand, the trial court shall utilize whatever means
necessary to secure a proper Trial Court's Certification of Defendant's Right of Appeal
in compliance with Rule 25.2(d). Once properly completed and executed, the
certification shall be included in a supplemental clerk's record. See Tex. R. App. P.
34.5(a)(12). The trial court shall cause the supplemental clerk's record to be filed with
the Clerk of this Court by September 9, 2013. This order constitutes notice to all
parties, pursuant to Rule 37.1 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, of the
defective certification. If a supplemental clerk's record containing a proper certification
is not filed in accordance with this order, this cause will be referred to the Court for
further action. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(d).
It is so ordered.
Per Curiam
Do not publish.
2
Effective September 1, 2007, Rule 25.2(d) was amended to require that a defendant sign the certification
and receive a copy which contains certain admonishments not previously required.
3
The proper form is contained in Appendix D to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and can be found
on this Court’s website at http://www.7thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/forms/TC-Certification.pdf.
2