Miguel Angel Lopez v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 177th District Court of Harris County

NUMBER 13-00-657-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI

MIGUEL ANGEL LOPEZ , Appellant,

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS , Appellee.

On appeal from the 177th District Court

of Harris County, Texas.

O P I N I O N

Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Ya ez and Castillo

Opinion by Chief Justice Valdez

Appellant, Miguel Angel Lopez, entered an agreed plea of guilty to the offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child. (1)

Pursuant to the plea bargain, the trial court sentenced appellant to 30 years imprisonment. The court admonished Lopez he could appeal only with permission of the trial court. Appellant filed a general notice of appeal. No other notice appears in the record.

Pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744-45 (1967), Lopez's counsel filed an Anders brief, in which he has concluded that this appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit. Without addressing counsel's contentions, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction because Lopez's general notice of appeal provides no basis for an appeal from the plea-bargained judgment.

Rule 25.2(b)(3) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provides that following an agreed plea of guilty, and where the punishment does not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant, a notice of appeal must specify that (1) the appeal is for a jurisdictional defect, (2) the substance of the appeal was raised by written motion and ruled on before trial, or (3) state that the trial court granted permission to appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(b)(3).

Because Lopez entered an agreed plea of guilty, and because the punishment assessed did not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor, rule 25.2(b)(3) limits our jurisdiction over his appeal. First, Lopez asserts no jurisdictional defects. Second, he does not contend that his appeal is from an issue raised by written motion and ruled on before trial. Finally, Lopez's notice of appeal does not set out that the trial court granted him permission to pursue his appeal.

Because we conclude this Court is without jurisdiction, we dismiss Lopez's appeal.

ROGELIO VALDEZ

Chief Justice

Do not publish.

Tex. R. App. P. 47.3(b).

Opinion delivered and filed

this 26th day of July, 2001.

1. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. 22.021(a)(1)(B)(i)(Vernon Supp. 2001).