Opinion issued August 22, 2013
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-13-00452-CR
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VINCENT CRAIG STEVENSON, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 263rd District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 1362966
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Vincent Craig Stevenson, pleaded guilty to the felony offense of
assault—family violence.1 The trial court found appellant guilty, and, in
accordance with the terms of his plea agreement with the State, sentenced him to
1
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.01(a)(1), (b)(2) (West 2011).
confinement for three years. Appellant has filed a pro se notice of appeal. We
dismiss the appeal.
In a plea-bargained case, a defendant may appeal only those matters that
were raised by written motion filed and ruled on before trial or after obtaining the
trial court’s permission to appeal. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 44.02 (West
2006); TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2). An appeal must be dismissed if a certification
showing that a defendant has the right of appeal has not been made part of the
record. TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(d).
Here, the trial court’s certification is included in the record on appeal. See
id. The trial court’s certification states that this is a plea-bargained case and
appellant has no right of appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2). The record
supports the trial court’s certification.2 See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615
(Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Because appellant has no right of appeal, we must
dismiss this appeal. See Chavez v. State, 183 S.W.3d 675, 680 (Tex. Crim. App.
2006) (“A court of appeals, while having jurisdiction to ascertain whether an
appellant who plea-bargained is permitted to appeal by Rule 25.2(a)(2), must
2
Although appellant filed a written pretrial motion for a competency examination,
the trial court granted the motion and it, therefore, does not provide a basis for
appeal. See Woods v. State, 108 S.W.3d 314, 316 n.6 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003)
(distinguishing motion for examination from motion for court determination of
competency). Further, appellant’s plea agreement states that he waived the right
to appeal if the court accepted the plea agreement, and a waiver of the right to
appeal is valid if made when the defendant knows the sentence he will receive.
See Ex parte Delaney, 207 S.W.3d 794, 798 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
2
dismiss a prohibited appeal without further action, regardless of the basis for the
appeal.”).
Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction and deny any
pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Jennings, Brown, and Huddle.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
3
Vincent Craig Stevenson v. State
Combined Opinion