Dennis v. State

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TY'QUAN DENNIS, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

No. 14-22-00442-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fourteenth District

December 20, 2022

On Appeal from the 482nd District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1682803

Panel Consists of Justices Jewell, Bourliot, and Zimmerer.

ORDER

PER CURIAM

On October 25, 2022, we granted the State's motion to abate this appeal for corrected certification of the defendant's right of appeal. An appeal must be dismissed if a certification showing that the defendant has the right of appeal has not been made part of the record. Tex.R.App.P 25.2(d); Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 613 (Tex Crim. App. 2005). The record before this court contained two certifications of the defendant's right of appeal.

Appellant was charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. On May 4, 2022, appellant signed a judicial confession and agreed to waive any right of appeal in exchange for the State giving up their right to a jury trial. The record contained a certification signed by the trial court on May 4, 2022 stating this is a plea bargain case and the defendant has no right of appeal. The judgment, signed May 26, 2022, states "APPEAL WAIVED, NO PERMISSION TO APPEAL GRANTED." The record also contained a certification signed by the trial court on June 16, 2022, stating this is not a plea bargain case and the defendant has the right of appeal.

In accordance with our order of October 25, 2022, the trial court conducted a hearing and a record of that hearing has been filed in this court. The trial court found the second certification, signed on June 16, 2022, "was signed in error." Further, the trial court found as follows:

The Court has no record or recollection of this document having been presented and the Court finds that it made no exception to the initial paperwork that was filed on May the 4th of 2022 reflecting that Mr. Dennis had knowingly voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right of appeal being that the case was a plea bargain and he had no right of appeal.

The Court concludes that Mr. Ty'Quan Dennis, on May the 4th of 2022, present before the Court, did knowingly voluntarily, and intelligently waive his right of appeal.

The Court also concludes that the State of Texas, in providing a benefit to Mr. Dennis such as dismissing the case -- an additional case that was pending before the Court, and not going forward with the right to a jury

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