Joshua Quenton Curtis v. State ( 2012 )

Opinion issued June 28, 2012.
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
NO. 01-12-00066-CR
____________
JOSHUA QUENTON CURTIS, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 182nd District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 1291899
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Pursuant to a plea-bargain agreement with the State, appellant Joshua
Quenton Curtis pleaded guilty to the felony offense of indecency with a child by
contact.1 A grand jury returned a true bill of indictment against the appellant for the
1
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 21.11 (West 2011).
felony offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child.2 The plea-bargain in this
case entailed the reduction of the charge to indecency with a child by contact in
exchange for appellant’s plea to the reduced charge. See Shankle v. State, 119
S.W.3d 808, 813-14 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). In accordance with the terms of
appellant’s plea agreement with the State, the trial court found appellant guilty of
indecency with a child by contact. The trial court then sentenced appellant to
confinement for five years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice. Appellant has filed a notice of appeal. We dismiss the appeal.
In a plea-bargain case, a defendant may only appeal 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). A charge-bargain, like
that entered into by the appellant and the State in this case, where the defendant
agrees to plead guilty to a lesser or related offense in exchange for the prosecutor
dismissing or refraining from bringing another charge, is a plea-bargain under
Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 25.2. See Shankle, 119 S.W.3d at 813-14. 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).
Here, the trial court’s certification is included in the record on appeal. See id.
The trial court’s certification indicates that the appellant has no right of appeal. See
2
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.011 (West 2011).
2
TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2). The record supports that appellant has no right of
appeal. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Because
appellant has no right of appeal, we must dismiss this appeal. See Chavez v. State,
183 S.W.3d 675, 680 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (“A court of appeals, while having
jurisdiction to ascertain whether an appellant who plea-bargained is permitted to
appeal by Rule 25.2(a)(2), must dismiss a prohibited appeal without further action,
regardless of the basis for the appeal.”).
Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. We dismiss all
pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Higley, Sharp, and Huddle.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
3