Summary
This document is Isaac Gonzalez’s pro se Petition for Discretionary Review filed in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. It challenges the Thirteenth Court of Appeals’ dismissal for want of jurisdiction of his appeal concerning the trial court’s denial of his motion for appointment of habeas corpus counsel. The petition alleges that the court of appeals mistakenly treated the appeal as involving another inmate’s Article 11.07 habeas proceeding.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the court of appeals had jurisdiction over an appeal from the denial of an article 11.07 habeas application seeking relief from a final felony conviction.
- Whether the challenged order was an appealable judgment of conviction or fell within a recognized exception to the general rule limiting criminal appeals.
Holdings
- An appeal in a criminal case generally may be taken only from a judgment of conviction, subject to narrow exceptions; the order identified in the appeal was neither a judgment of conviction nor within an applicable exception.
- The court of appeals has no jurisdiction over criminal-law matters involving habeas corpus proceedings seeking relief from final felony convictions under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 11.07.
Key quotations
“As a general rule, an appeal in a criminal case may be taken only from a judgment of conviction.” (Memorandum opinion at 1)
“Moreover, this court has no jurisdiction in criminal law matters pertaining to habeas corpus proceedings seeking relief from final felony convictions.” (Memorandum opinion at 2)
“Accordingly, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION.” (Memorandum opinion at 2)
Factual background
According to the memorandum opinion, Gonzalez, proceeding pro se, attempted to appeal an order identified as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' denial of an article 11.07 habeas application. The court concluded that the challenged order was neither a judgment of conviction nor within a recognized exception to the general rule limiting criminal appeals. Gonzalez failed to respond to the court's notice requesting correction of the alleged jurisdictional defect.
Procedural history
The attached memorandum opinion states that Gonzalez sought to appeal a May 20, 2015 denial without written order of an article 11.07 application for habeas corpus. The Thirteenth Court of Appeals notified him that the order was not appealable and requested correction of the alleged defect. Gonzalez did not respond, and the court dismissed the appeal on September 3, 2015. The petition for discretionary review asserts that the appellate court confused Gonzalez's case with another inmate's case and that Gonzalez was actually appealing the trial court's denial of a motion for appointment of habeas counsel.