Background
In June 2023, the trial court placed Frankie Avalon Harris, Jr. on community supervision for five years after he was convicted of the third-degree felony offense of bail jumping and failure to appear.
After the State moved to revoke, the trial court found the motion’s allegations true, revoked Harris’s community supervision, and sentenced him to four years in prison. Although the trial court certified that the case involved a plea bargain, Harris had no right of appeal, and Harris had waived that right, his counsel filed a notice of appeal.
The Court’s Holding
The Eleventh Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 25.2(a)(2) permits an appeal in a plea-bargain case only for matters raised by a written pretrial motion and ruled upon, matters the trial court permits the defendant to appeal, or appeals expressly authorized by statute. The court concluded that none of those exceptions applied.
The certification stating that Harris had no right of appeal and had waived his appellate rights was signed by Harris, his trial counsel, and the presiding judge, and the appellate record supported it. Harris’s appellate counsel also acknowledged that there were no grounds for appeal. The court therefore held that Rule 25.2(d) required dismissal without further action.
Key Takeaways
- A defendant in a plea-bargain case may appeal only within the limited circumstances identified in Rule 25.2(a)(2).
- A trial-court certification denying a right of appeal controls when the appellate record supports it.
- Because Harris had waived appeal and no applicable exception authorized review, the court dismissed rather than reaching the revocation’s merits.
Why It Matters
The opinion underscores that filing a notice of appeal does not overcome a supported certification that a plea-bargaining defendant lacks appellate rights. Counsel must identify a valid Rule 25.2 exception or trial-court permission before an appellate court may consider the merits.
The decision also illustrates that an appeal from a community-supervision revocation may be procedurally barred when the record establishes an enforceable waiver and no independent basis for appeal.