Opinion issued March 5, 2015
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-14-00750-CR
NO. 01-14-00751-CR
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ERNEST FLORES, Appellant
V.
STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from County Criminal Court at Law No. 4
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case Nos. 5640 & 5641
OPINION
In municipal court, a jury found Ernest Flores guilty of the traffic offenses of
speeding and failing to display a valid driver’s license upon demand of a peace
officer. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. § 545.351(a) (Vernon 2011) (speeding),
§ 521.025 (Vernon 2013) (failing to display a valid driver’s license). The jury
assessed a fine of $100 for each offense, and the municipal court rendered
judgments on the verdicts.
Proceeding pro se, Flores appealed each judgment of conviction to the
county criminal court at law. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 30.00014(a) (Vernon
Supp. 2014) (providing for appeal to county court from conviction in municipal
court of record). The county court signed judgments dismissing both appeals for
lack of jurisdiction. In its written opinion supporting each judgment, the county
court stated that Flores had failed to timely file his appeal bond as required by
Government Code section 30.00015(a) to invoke the appellate jurisdiction of the
county criminal court. See id. § 30.00015(a) (Vernon 2004) (providing, “The bond
must be approved by the court and must be filed not later than the 10th day after
the date on which the motion for new trial is overruled.”) Flores has now appealed
to this Court, challenging the county criminal court’s judgments dismissing his
appeals of the municipal court judgments.
After reviewing the record, we conclude that we do not have jurisdiction
over these appeals. Neither the United States nor the Texas Constitution provides
that a defendant has a right to appeal a criminal conviction; the right to appeal is
created by statute. McKinney v. State, 207 S.W.3d 366, 374 (Tex. Crim. App.
2006). Government Code section 30.00027(a) provides this Court with jurisdiction
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to review a county criminal court’s judgment affirming a municipal court judgment
when the fine exceeds $100 or the sole issue is the constitutionality of the statute or
ordinance on which a conviction is based. See TEX. GOV’T CODE
ANN. § 30.00027(a) (Vernon Supp. 2014).
Here, the county criminal court dismissed, rather than affirmed, Flores’s
municipal court judgments. See id.; see also Tex. Vital Care v. State, 323 S.W.3d
609, 611 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2010, no pet.) (holding court of appeals lacked
jurisdiction to consider appeal after county court dismissed appeal from municipal
court for failure to pay appeal bond); Jamshedji v. State, 230 S.W.3d 224, 225
(Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. ref’d) (holding court of appeals
lacked jurisdiction to entertain appeal after county court dismissed appeal from
municipal court for lack of jurisdiction). In addition, the fine assessed against
Flores in each case was $100; it did not exceed $100. See id. § 30.00027(a). And
a review of the record shows that Flores’s “sole issue” in the county court was not
“the constitutionality of the statute or ordinance on which a conviction is based.”
See id.
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We hold that Flores does not have a statutory right to appeal the county
criminal court’s judgments to this Court. We dismiss both appeals for lack of
jurisdiction. *
Laura Carter Higley
Justice
Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Higley, and Brown.
Publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
*
On November 20, 2014, this Court notified Flores of its intent to dismiss these
appeals for want of jurisdiction unless, within 10 days, he filed a response
explaining why this Court has jurisdiction over these appeals. See TEX. R. APP.
P. 42.3(a). Flores filed a response, asserting that the county court incorrectly
dismissed his appeals to that court of the municipal court judgments. However, as
discussed, we do not have jurisdiction to consider the merits of Flores’s challenge
to the county criminal court’s judgments of dismissal. See TEX. GOV’T CODE
ANN. § 30.00027(a) (Vernon Supp. 2014).
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