DISMISS and Opinion Filed February 8, 2017
S
Court of Appeals
In The
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
No. 05-16-01301-CV
No. 05-16-01302-CV
SCOTT RICHARDSON, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the Municipal Court of Mesquite
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. 11151556 & 11151557
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Chief Justice Wright, Justice Lang-Miers, and Justice Stoddart
Opinion by Chief Justice Wright
By letter dated January 9, 2017, the Court questioned its jurisdiction over these appeals.
Specifically, we questioned whether the orders appellant appeals from are reviewable by direct
appeal to this Court. We requested that appellant file a jurisdictional brief addressing the issue
and gave appellee an opportunity to respond.
Appellant is appealing orders from the Mesquite Municipal Court finding him guilty for
operating a vehicle without a front license plate and driving while license is invalid. The
municipal court imposed fines for each violation. Appellant filed notices of appeal of the
municipal court orders directly to this Court.
County criminal courts of appeal have sole jurisdiction of all appeals from criminal
convictions for violations of municipal ordinances of municipalities located in the county. See
TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. §§ 25.0594(a)(1) & 30.00014(a) (West Supp. 2016). The Texas
Constitution confers the courts of appeals with jurisdiction over “all cases of which the District
Courts or County Courts have original or appellate jurisdiction, under such restrictions and
regulations as may be prescribed by law.” Tex. Const. art. V, § 6(a). Section 30.00027(a) of the
government code provides:
(a) The appellant has the right to appeal to the court of appeals if:
(1) the fine assessed against the defendant exceeds $100 and the judgment
is affirmed by the appellate court; or
(2) the sole issue is the constitutionality of the statute or ordinance on
which a conviction is based.
TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 30.00027(a) (West Supp. 2016). This section limits our jurisdiction of
appeals from county criminal court appellate decisions to the specific situations set forth in the
statute. See Tex. Vital Care v. State, 323 S.W.3d 609, 612 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2010, no
pet.). If an appellate court is without jurisdiction over an appeal, it can only dismiss the appeal.
See Sherman v. State, 12 S.W.3d 489, 492 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1999, no pet.).
As stated in his notices of appeal, appellant appealed directly to this Court from the
municipal court. Appellant filed a letter brief. However, he fails to address the statutory
mandate that a county court of criminal appeals has sole jurisdiction over appeals from municipal
courts. Appellant skipped a required step - he failed to first take his appeals to the county court
of criminal appeals.
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This Court has no jurisdiction over appeals directly from a municipal court. Accordingly,
we dismiss the appeals. See TEX. R. APP. P. 42.3(a).
/Carolyn Wright/
CAROLYN WRIGHT
CHIEF JUSTICE
161301F.P05
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S
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
SCOTT RICHARDSON, Appellant On Appeal from the Municipal Court of the
City of Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas
No. 05-16-01301-CV V. Trial Court Cause No. 11151556.
Opinion delivered by Chief Justice Wright.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee Justices Lang-Miers and Stoddart
participating.
In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the appeal is DISMISSED.
It is ORDERED that appellee THE STATE OF TEXAS recover its costs of this appeal
from appellant SCOTT RICHARDSON.
Judgment entered February 8, 2017.
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S
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
JUDGMENT
SCOTT RICHARDSON, Appellant On Appeal from the Municipal Court of the
City of Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas
No. 05-16-01302-CV V. Trial Court Cause No. 11151557.
Opinion delivered by Chief Justice Wright.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee Justices Lang-Miers and Stoddart
participating.
In accordance with this Court’s opinion of this date, the appeal is DISMISSED.
It is ORDERED that appellee THE STATE OF TEXAS recover its costs of this appeal
from appellant SCOTT RICHARDSON.
Judgment entered February 8, 2017.
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