Johnathan Eugene Cooper v. State ( 2013 )

COURT OF APPEALS
SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
NO. 02-13-00370-CR
JOHNATHAN EUGENE COOPER APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE
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FROM THE 297TH DISTRICT COURT OF TARRANT COUNTY
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MEMORANDUM OPINION1
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On August 13, 2013, we sent appellant Johnathan Eugene Cooper a letter
stating that the trial court’s certification of his right to appeal states that this is a
plea-bargain case and that he has no right of appeal. See Tex. R. App. P.
25.2(a)(2). We instructed Cooper or any party desiring to continue the appeal to
file a response by August 23, 2013, showing grounds for continuing the appeal or
1
See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
the appeal may be dismissed. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(d), 44.3. Cooper filed a
response,2 but it did not show grounds for continuing the appeal.
The Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure are clear that in a plea-bargain
case, an appellant may appeal only those matters that were raised by written
motion filed and ruled on before trial or after getting the trial court’s permission to
appeal. Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2). There is no exception for an adverse ruling
on a motion for new trial. See Estrada v. State, 149 S.W.3d 280, 282 (Tex.
App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, pet. ref’d) (op. on reh’g). In this case, the trial
court certified that this is a plea-bargain case and that the defendant has no right
of appeal. Without a certification from the trial court reflecting a right to appeal,
we must dismiss the appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(d).
Because Cooper has no right of appeal from his plea bargain, we dismiss
his appeal for want of jurisdiction. Furthermore, we deny Cooper’s motions for
extensions of time to file an additional response to our August 13, 2013 letter.
PER CURIAM
PANEL: MEIER, J.; LIVINGSTON, C.J.; and GABRIEL, J.
DO NOT PUBLISH
Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)
DELIVERED: September 19, 2013
2
Cooper titled his response “Grounds For Continuing Appeal (in part),” and
he has since filed two motions requesting an extension of time to further his
response.
2