Cruthird, Micheal Earl, Sr.

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
• Decided: May 5, 2004
• Docket: AP-74,716
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

OF TEXAS

NO.74,716

MICHAEL EARL CRUTHIRD, Appellant

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

ON DIRECT APPEAL OF MOTION FOR DNA TESTING

FROM BELL COUNTY

Keller, P.J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.

O P I N I O N

Appellant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He subsequently filed a motion for DNA testing, ⁽¹⁾ which the trial court denied. He thereafter filed a notice of appeal, ⁽²⁾ and the district clerk forwarded his appeal to the Third Court of Appeals. Holding that the Court of Criminal Appeals has jurisdiction over this case because it is a "capital" case, the Court of Appeals dismissed the case for want of jurisdiction and ordered the record transferred to this Court. The matter has now been filed as an appeal in this Court.

In Sisk v. State, we held that, where the capital murder defendant was given a life sentence, an appeal of a trial court's denial of DNA testing is to the Court of Appeals. ⁽³⁾ Consequently, we order that this appeal be transferred to the Third Court of Appeals. ⁽⁴⁾

KELLER, Presiding Judge

Date delivered: May 5, 2004

Do not publish

1. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC., Art. 64.01, et seq.

2. Art. 64.05.

3. 2004 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 646 (April 7, 2004).

4. Id. at *12.