David Espitia, Jr. v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 144th Judicial District Court of Bexar County

No. 04-00-00297-CR
David ESPITIA, Jr.,
Appellant
v.
The STATE of Texas,
Appellee
From the 144th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas
Trial Court No. 99-CR-3713-B
Honorable Mark Luitjen, Judge Presiding

PER CURIAM

Sitting: Phil Hardberger, Chief Justice

Tom Rickhoff, Justice

Catherine Stone, Justice

Delivered and Filed: May 31, 2001

DISMISSED FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION

Appellant David Espitia, Jr. pled guilty to the felony offense of aggravated robbery. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Espitia was sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment and a fine of one-thousand dollars. Espitia filed a general notice of appeal. Because Espitia pled guilty and was sentenced in accordance with his plea agreement, we are without jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

When a judgment is rendered on a defendant's plea of guilty pursuant to a plea bargain in a felony case and the punishment assessed did not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant, the notice of appeal must assert one of the following: (1) that the appeal is for a jurisdictional defect; (2) that the substance of the appeal was raised by written motion and ruled on before trial; or (3) that the trial court granted permission to appeal. Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(b)(3); Young v. State, 8 S.W.3d 656, 666-67 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). A timely notice of appeal which complies with Rule 25.2(b)(3) is necessary to confer jurisdiction on this court. See State v. Riewe, 13 S.W.3d 408, 410 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). Once the time for perfecting the appeal has passed, an appellant may not retroactively confer jurisdiction on this court by filing an amended notice of appeal. See Id. at 413-14. This court's jurisdiction is limited to the matters specified in the rule, whether the errors occur before or after the guilty plea. See Cooper v. State, No. 1100-99, slip op. at 6-7, 2001 WL 321579, at *1 (Tex. Crim. App. Apr. 4, 2001). When Rule 25.2(b)(3) applies and a general notice of appeal is filed, we may review only issues concerning the trial court's jurisdiction. See Martinez v. State, 5 S.W.3d 722, 724-25 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1999, no pet.).

Rule 25.2(b)(3) applies to this appeal, and Espitia did not file a notice of appeal complying with the Rule. Espitia's brief does not raise any issues concerning the trial court's jurisdiction. Therefore, we dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

PER CURIAM

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