Cullen Christopher Bennert v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: March 10, 2025
• Docket: 07-25-00073-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-25-00073-CR

CULLEN CHRISTOPHER BENNERT, APPELLANT

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

On Appeal from the 320th District Court Potter County, Texas Trial Court No. 080106-D-CR, Honorable Pamela C. Sirmon, Presiding

March 10, 2025 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before QUINN, C.J., and PARKER and YARBROUGH, JJ.

Appellant, Cullen Christopher Bennert, proceeding pro se, appeals from the trial

court’s order placing him on deferred adjudication community supervision for seven years

for the offense of aggravated assault.1 We dismiss the untimely appeal for want of

jurisdiction and because Appellant has no right of appeal.

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.02(a)(2). The timely filing of a written notice of appeal is a jurisdictional prerequisite to

hearing an appeal. Castillo v. State, 369 S.W.3d 196, 198 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). In

criminal cases, a notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after sentence is

imposed or suspended in open court, or within thirty days after the trial court enters an

appealable order. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a). This deadline is extended to ninety days if the

defendant timely files a motion for new trial. Id. If the notice of appeal is not timely filed,

an appellate court has no option but to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Castillo,

369 S.W.3d at 198.

The trial court signed the order of deferred adjudication on November 10, 2021.

Because no motion for new trial was filed, a notice of appeal was due within thirty days

after sentencing, by December 10, 2021. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a). Appellant filed a

notice of appeal on February 5, 2025. Appellant’s untimely notice of appeal, thus,

prevents this Court from acquiring jurisdiction over the appeal.

Further, under Rule of Appellate Procedure 25.2(d), we are required to dismiss an

appeal “if a certification that shows the defendant has the right of appeal has not been

made part of the record.” Here, the trial court’s certification of Appellant’s right of appeal

indicates that this is a plea-bargain case with no right of appeal and that Appellant has

waived the right of appeal. The certification comports with the record before the Court.

By letter of February 7, 2025, we notified Appellant of the consequences of his late

notice of appeal and the trial court’s certification and directed him to show how the Court

has jurisdiction over the appeal by February 21. Appellant has not filed a response or

had any further communication with this Court to date.

2 Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction and based on the trial

court’s certification.

Per Curiam