IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-17-00185-CR
CHRISTOPHER K. SCHMOTZER,
Appellant
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee
From the 85th District Court
Brazos County, Texas
Trial Court No. 09-1287-CRF-85
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Christopher K. Schmotzer, a prison inmate, filed a notice of appeal from an order
of the trial court granting the State’s motion to release biological evidence.
The right of appeal in criminal cases is conferred by the Legislature, and a party
may appeal only from judgments of conviction or interlocutory orders authorized as
appealable. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 44.02 (West 2006); TEX. R. APP. P.
25.2(a)(2). We do not have jurisdiction to review interlocutory orders unless jurisdiction
has been expressly granted by law. Apolinar v. State, 820 S.W.2d 792, 794 (Tex. Crim. App.
1991). See also Abbott v. State, 271 S.W.3d 694, 696-97 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) ("The
standard for determining jurisdiction is not whether the appeal is precluded by law, but
whether the appeal is authorized by law."). The order about which Schmotzer complains
is not a final conviction, and there is no statutory authorization to appeal the granting of
a motion to release biological evidence.
Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
Schmotzer’s request for appointment of counsel on appeal is also dismissed.
TOM GRAY
Chief Justice
Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Davis, and
Justice Scoggins
Appeal dismissed
Motion dismissed
Opinion delivered and filed June 14, 2017
Do not publish
[CR25]
Schmotzer v. State Page 2