Opinion
NO. 03-19-00139-CR
08-23-2019
Randall Jones, Appellant v. The State of Texas, Appellee
FROM THE 167TH DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY
NO. D-1-DC-17-302455 , THE HONORABLE P. DAVID WAHLBERG, JUDGE PRESIDING MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Randall Jones has filed a notice of appeal from the trial court's dismissal of his murder charge. In criminal cases, unless expressly authorized by statute, appellate courts only have jurisdiction to review judgments of conviction. Abbott v. State, 271 S.W.3d 694, 696 (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."); Glaze v. State, 675 S.W.2d 768, 769-70 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984) (holding that neither court of appeals nor court of criminal appeals has jurisdiction to consider merits of case unless there is a conviction from which to appeal); see Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 44.02 ("A defendant in any criminal action has the right of appeal under the rules prescribed . . . ."). The order that is the subject of this appeal is not a judgment of conviction, and there is no statute authorizing this appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction.
The charge was refiled against Jones in cause number D-1-DC-19-904002, which resulted in a judgment of conviction and, on February 12, 2019, the imposition of a forty-year prison term. See Tex. Penal Code § 19.02. In separate cause numbers in the trial court, Jones was also charged and convicted on February 12 of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon—family violence and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. See id. § 22.02. Jones has separately filed notices of appeals from these judgments of conviction, and his appeals have been assigned cause numbers in this Court (03-19-00140-CR, 03-19-00141-CR, and 03-19-00199-CR).
/s/_________
Chari L. Kelly, Justice Before Justices Goodwin, Baker, and Kelly Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction Filed: August 23, 2019 Do Not Publish