Opinion issued September 26, 2013
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-13-00667-CR
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CHARLES LEE HAWKINS, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 232nd District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 479960
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Charles Lee Hawkins, attempts to appeal from the trial court’s
order denying his request for appointed counsel to assist in filing for post-
conviction DNA testing under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 64.01.
See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 64.01 (West Supp. 2012). We dismiss the
appeal.
“[A] motion for appointed counsel is a preliminary matter that precedes the
initiation of Chapter 64 proceedings.” Gutierrez v. State, 307 S.W.3d 318, 323
(Tex. Crim. App. 2010). “At this stage, a convicted person has only contemplated
the filing of a motion for DNA testing.” Id. (citing TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN.
art. 64.01(c) (providing that defendant must inform trial court that he “wishes” to
submit motion for DNA testing)). Thus, a trial court’s order denying a request for
the appointment of counsel under article 64.01(c) is not an immediately appealable
order. Id. Any alleged error made by the trial court in refusing to appoint counsel
must be raised in an appeal from the final order denying DNA testing. Id. If a
reviewing court determines that the trial court erred by failing to appoint counsel,
the case is then remanded to the trial court for the appellant to file a subsequent
motion for DNA testing with the assistance of counsel. Id.
Here, because appellant attempts to appeal the trial court’s denial of his
motion for the appointment of counsel, rather than a final order denying a motion
for DNA testing under article 64.01, we lack jurisdiction to consider the appeal.
See id.
Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See id.; see
also TEX. R. APP. P. 43.2(f). We dismiss any pending motions as moot.
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PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Higley, and Massengale.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
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