ACCEPTED
03-15-00675-CV
8131385
THIRD COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
12/8/2015 10:24:55 AM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
No. 03-15-00675-CV CLERK
No. 03-15-00676-CV
FILED IN
3rd COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
In the Third Court of Appeals 12/8/2015 10:24:55 AM
Austin, Texas JEFFREY D. KYLE
Clerk
GERALD STEVENS,
Appellant,
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee.
On appeal from the County Court-at-Law Number Five,
Travis County, Texas
Trial Cause No. C-1-CR-15-100026
STATE’S BRIEF
DAVID A. ESCAMILLA
TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY
GISELLE HORTON
ASSISTANT TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY
State Bar Number 10018000
Post Office Box 1748
Austin, Texas 78767
Telephone: (512) 854-9415
TCAppellate@traviscountytx.gov
December 8, 2015 ATTORNEYS FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS
ORAL ARGUMENT IS NOT REQUESTED
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
STATEMENT OF THE CASE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ISSUE PRESENTED. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ARGUMENT
Reply Point: The Court is without jurisdiction to hear Stevens’s
interlocutory appeal.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
PRAYER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
i
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES
Statutes Page
TEX. CODE CRIM. P. art. 44.17
(West 2006). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Rules
TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Cases
Ex parte Apolinar, 820 S.W.2d 792
(Tex. Crim. App. 1991).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
McKown v. State, 915 S.W.2d 160
(Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1996, no pet.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Ragston v. State, 424 S.W.3d 49
(Tex. Crim. App. 2014).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Workman v. State, 170 Tex. Crim. 621, 343 S.W.2d 446
(Tex. Crim. App. 1961).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ii
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On March 27, 2015, a Travis County justice-court jury found Stevens
guilty of speeding, and assessed punishment at a $200 fine. CR 11, 12.1 On
April 10th, he filed an appeal bond to appeal this Class C misdemeanor
conviction to a Travis County court-at-law. CR 53.
On June 5th, Stevens filed with the county clerk a document entitled
“Respondent’s Special Appearance and Plea to the Jurisdiction.” CR 57–87.
Stevens now appeals the trial court’s adverse ruling on his “special
appearance and plea to the jurisdiction.” CR 164 [adverse ruling]; CR
165–67 [Stevens’s “notice of interlocutory appeal”].
ISSUE PRESENTED
Did the county court-at-law err in failing to dismiss the criminal case
against Stevens because the court was without personal or subject-matter
jurisdiction, as he contends?
1
The record does not reflect whether the other Class C misdemeanor arising out of the
same transaction went to trial in the justice court.
1
SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
This a an interlocutory matter that the Third Court does not have
jurisdiction to review.
ARGUMENT
Reply Point: The Court is without jurisdiction to hear
Stevens’s interlocutory appeal.
Appeal to county court from justice court is trial de novo. See TEX.
CODE CRIM. P. art. 44.17 (West 2006). Stevens has not had trial de novo in
the county court-at-law, and therefore has not been convicted or sentenced
in this criminal case. As a general rule, a court of appeals has jurisdiction to
consider a criminal defendant’s appeal only where there has been a
judgment of conviction. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2); Workman v. State, 170
Tex. Crim. 621, 343 S.W.2d 446, 447 (Tex. Crim. App. 1961). A court of
appeals does not have jurisdiction to review rulings on interlocutory
orders in a criminal case unless that jurisdiction has been expressly granted
by law. Ragston v. State, 424 S.W.3d 49, 51 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); Ex parte
Apolinar, 820 S.W.2d 792, 794 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991).
2
No jurisdiction has been granted by law permitting the Court to
interlocutorily review an order denying a “special appearance and plea to
the jurisdiction” in a criminal case. See McKown v. State, 915 S.W.2d 160,
161 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1996, no pet.) (concluding that appeal from
pretrial order denying motion to suppress evidence was not immediately
appealable and dismissing appeal for lack of jurisdiction).
PRAYER
For these reasons, on behalf of the State of Texas, the Travis County
Attorney asks the Court to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
Respectfully submitted,
DAVID A. ESCAMILLA
TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY
Giselle Horton
Assistant Travis County Attorney
State Bar Number 10018000
Post Office Box 1748
Austin, Texas 78767
Telephone: (512) 854-9415
TCAppellate@traviscountytx.gov
ATTORNEYS FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS
3
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
Relying on Corel WordPerfect’s word-count function, I certify that
this document complies with the word-count limitations of TEX. R. APP. P.
9.4. The document contains 729 words.
Giselle Horton
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that I have sent a complete and legible copy of this State's
Brief via U.S. postage-prepaid mail to Mr. Gerald Stevens, at 3117 Fontana
Drive, Austin, Texas 78704, on December 8, 2015.
Giselle Horton
Assistant Travis County Attorney
4