Opinion
No. 11-20-00251-CR No. 11-20-00252-CR
12-18-2020
BRENT JVON GRAVES, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 142nd District Court Midland County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. CR-53,109 & CR-53,374
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Brent Jvon Graves has been indicted for various felonies in the causes at issue in these appeals. In each cause, he attempts to appeal from an order in which the trial court denied his pretrial motion seeking bail reduction. When the appeals were docketed, the clerk of this court wrote Appellant and informed him that it did not appear that the orders from which he attempted to appeal were final, appealable orders. We requested that Appellant respond and show grounds to continue the appeals. Appellant has not filed a response in either cause. We dismiss the appeals.
An appellate court has jurisdiction to consider an appeal by a criminal defendant from a final judgment of conviction or as otherwise authorized by law. Ragston v. State, 424 S.W.3d 49, 51-52 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014); Abbott v. State, 271 S.W.3d 694, 696-97 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). The interlocutory orders issued by the trial court in the causes before us related only to Appellant's motion to reduce the amount of his pretrial bond. The appellant in Ragston likewise attempted "an interlocutory appeal of the trial court's order on his motion for bond reduction." 424 S.W.3d at 50-51. The Court of Criminal Appeals addressed the issue of the jurisdiction of the court of appeals and affirmed the dismissal of the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Id. The Court of Criminal Appeals specifically held: "There is no constitutional or statutory authority granting the courts of appeals jurisdiction to hear interlocutory appeals regarding excessive bail or the denial of bail." Id. at 52. We conclude, pursuant to Ragston, that we have no jurisdiction to entertain the appeals.
Accordingly, we dismiss these appeals for want of jurisdiction.
PER CURIAM December 18, 2020 Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J.,
Trotter, J., and Wright, S.C.J. Willson, J., not participating.
Jim R. Wright, Senior Chief Justice (Retired), Court of Appeals, 11th District of Texas at Eastland, sitting by assignment.