Opinion
14-23-00955-CR
02-27-2024
JAMES GREEN, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
Do Not Publish - Tex.R.App.P. 47.2(b)
On Appeal from the 180th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1768049
Panel consists of Justices Wise, Spain, and Hassan.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM.
Appellant entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. See Tex. Penal Code. §§ 22.01, 22.02(a)(2). In entering his plea, appellant agreed to waive all rights to an appeal. After a hearing on appellant's pre-sentence investigation report, the trial court found appellant guilty and assessed punishment at confinement for ten years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Because appellant waived the right to appeal, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.
The trial court signed a certification of the defendant's right to appeal in which the court certified that because this is a plea-bargain case, appellant has no right of appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2). The trial court's certification is included in the record on appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(d). The record supports the trial court's certification. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
A defendant may knowingly and intelligently waive his appeal as part of a plea when consideration is given by the State, even when sentencing is not agreed upon. See Carson v. State, 559 S.W.3d 489, 494 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (citing Ex parte Broadway, 301 S.W.3d 694, 695-96 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009)). For this waiver of the right of appeal to be valid, the record must show that the State gave up its right to a jury in exchange for the defendant's waiver of his appeal. See id (citing Broadway, 301 S.W.3d at 698). A written waiver in which the defendant affirmatively states that he is giving up his right of appeal in exchange for the State's consent to its right to a jury trial satisfies this requirement. See Lopez. v. State, 595 S.W.3d 897, 900-01 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2020, pet. ref'd).
On February 6, 2024, we informed appellant that the appeal was subject to dismissal for want of jurisdiction without further notice unless appellant filed a response with 21 days demonstrating that this court has jurisdiction. The same day, counsel for appellant filed a letter conceding that appellant had waived his right to appeal and that we lack jurisdiction.
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction.