Marcus Decole Williams v. State ( 2019 )


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  •              In the
    Court of Appeals
    Second Appellate District of Texas
    at Fort Worth
    ___________________________
    No. 02-19-00415-CR
    ___________________________
    MARCUS DECOLE WILLIAMS, Appellant
    V.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS
    On Appeal from Criminal District Court No. 2
    Tarrant County, Texas
    Trial Court No. 1527839D
    Before Gabriel, Kerr, and Birdwell, JJ.
    Memorandum Opinion by Justice Gabriel
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    Appellant Marcus Decole Williams, proceeding pro se, attempts to appeal his
    murder conviction. Because Williams pleaded guilty under a plea-bargain agreement,
    which the trial court followed, and because the trial court certified Williams had no
    right to appeal, we dismiss.
    Under a plea-bargain agreement with the State, Williams pleaded guilty to
    murder. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.02(b). The trial court found Williams guilty
    of the offense and, following the terms of the plea agreement, sentenced him to thirty
    years’ confinement. Williams filed a notice of appeal, and the trial court certified that
    Williams had pleaded guilty under a plea-bargain agreement with no right to appeal.
    See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 44.02; Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2). We notified
    Williams and his court-appointed counsel of the certification and warned that we
    would dismiss the appeal unless we received a response showing grounds to continue
    it. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(d), 44.3. We received no response.1
    The right to appeal a conviction arising from a plea-bargain agreement is
    limited to matters that were raised by written motion filed and ruled upon before trial
    or to cases in which the appellant has obtained the trial court’s permission to appeal.
    1
    Williams addressed the trial court’s certification in his notice of appeal and
    asserted that his appeal rights should be reinstated because his trial counsel had been
    constitutionally ineffective. This argument does not establish a basis for this court to
    exercise jurisdiction over the appeal. See Woods v. State, 
    108 S.W.3d 314
    , 316 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2003); Cooper v. State, 
    45 S.W.3d 77
    , 81 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001).
    2
    See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 44.02; Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2). The trial court’s
    certification in this case does not show that Williams was granted permission to
    appeal, nor does the record indicate that Williams intends to challenge a ruling on a
    written motion filed and ruled on before he pleaded guilty.          Thus, we dismiss
    Williams’s appeal in accordance with the trial court’s certification. See Tex. R. App. P.
    25.2(d), 43.2(f).
    /s/ Lee Gabriel
    Lee Gabriel
    Justice
    Do Not Publish
    Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)
    Delivered: December 31, 2019
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 02-19-00415-CR

Filed Date: 12/31/2019

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 1/2/2020