Document Info

DocketNumber: 06-19-00213-CR

Filed Date: 12/23/2019

Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 12/23/2019

  •                     In The
    Court of Appeals
    Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
    No. 06-19-00213-CR
    DOSHEE SWAN TOWERY, Appellant
    V.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
    On Appeal from the 102nd District Court
    Bowie County, Texas
    Trial Court No. 07F0058-102
    Before Morriss, C.J., Burgess and Stevens, JJ.
    Memorandum Opinion by Justice Stevens
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    Doshee Swan Towery was convicted of murder in 2007. On September 18, 2019, Towery
    filed a motion to vacate or set aside the 2007 judgment of conviction. On September 27, 2019, the
    trial court dismissed the motion to vacate for want of jurisdiction. At issue in this appeal is the
    trial court’s September 27 dismissal of the motion to vacate.
    In Texas, a party may only appeal when the Texas Legislature has authorized an appeal.
    Galitz v. State, 
    617 S.W.2d 949
    , 951 (Tex. Crim. App. 1981). When the Legislature passes
    legislation granting a right of appeal, in addition to granting its citizens that substantive right, it
    also grants the appellate courts of this State jurisdiction to hear such appeals. In the absence of
    such authorizing legislation, appellate courts are without jurisdiction and have no authority to act.
    In the criminal context, the Texas Legislature has authorized appeals from written judgments of
    conviction and a few orders deemed appealable. See Gutierrez v. State, 
    307 S.W.3d 318
    , 321 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2010). The trial court’s order dismissing Towery’s motion for want of jurisdiction
    does not appear to be an order from which the Texas Legislature has authorized an appeal. In the
    absence of such an authorization, we are without jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
    By letter dated November 27, 2019, we informed Towery of this jurisdictional issue. Although
    Towery filed a response to our jurisdictional defect letter, that response failed to demonstrate how this
    Court has jurisdiction over Towery’s attempted appeal.
    2
    Because the trial court’s September 27 dismissal of the motion to vacate does not constitute
    an appealable order, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal. Consequently, we dismiss the appeal for
    want of jurisdiction.
    Scott E. Stevens
    Justice
    Date Submitted:         December 20, 2019
    Date Decided:           December 23, 2019
    Do Not Publish
    3