Opinion
No. 08-19-00141-CR
08-07-2019
Dwayne Rodney Woodruff Appellant, v. The State of Texas, State.
Appeal from the 384 District Court of El Paso County, Texas (TC# 20170D02504) ORDER
In the certification of the defendant's right to appeal, the trial court certified that Appellant waived his right to appeal. The Rules of Appellate Procedure require us to dismiss this appeal unless we find that the certification is defective. See TEX.R.APP.P. 25.2(d); Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 613 (Tex.Crim.App. 2005). Consequently, we requested that Appellant's attorney and the prosecuting attorney file letter briefs addressing whether Appellant has a right to appeal. Appellant asserts in his letter brief that he did not waive the right to appeal. The State does not dispute Appellant's assertion. We have reviewed the clerk's record, including the judgment of conviction, and the reporter's record of the trial. The judgment recites that Appellant entered a plea of guilty before the jury, but the record reflects that Appellant entered a plea of not guilty and the jury found him guilty. We have not found anything in the record supporting the trial court's determination that Appellant waived his right to appeal. Accordingly, we find that the judgment is erroneous because it reflects that Appellant entered a guilty plea. Further, we find that the certification is defective because it is contrary to the record.
The trial court is ORDERED to correct the judgment of conviction and to enter a new certification of the defendant's right to appeal. Given that Appellant has already been advised of his rights to appeal and to file a petition for discretionary review, the trial court is not required to obtain Appellant's signature on the certification. The trial court shall file the judgment nunc pro tunc and the new certification with the trial court clerk no later than August 22, 2019. The trial court clerk shall prepare and file a supplemental clerk's record containing the judgment nunc pro tunc and new certification of the defendant's right to appeal no later than September 1, 2019.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 7 day of August, 2019.
PER CURIAM Before McClure, C.J., Rodriguez and Palafox, JJ.