Eric Nichols v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 16, 2003
• Docket: 09-02-00335-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

____________________

NO. 09-02-335 CR

ERIC NICHOLS, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 252nd District Court

Jefferson County, Texas

Trial Cause No. 85364

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Eric Nichols entered a guilty plea in Cause No. 85364 to the second degree felony offense of burglary of a habitation. Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 30.02(a)(3),(c)(2) (Vernon 2003). Following a plea bargain agreement between Nichols and the State, the trial court deferred adjudication of guilt, then placed Nichols on community supervision for eight years and fined him $1000. In a subsequent hearing, Nichols pleaded true to allegations that he violated the terms of the community supervision order. The trial court assessed punishment at four years of confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division.

Appellate counsel filed a brief that concludes no arguable error is presented in this appeal. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and High v. State, 573 S.W.2d 807 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978). On February 27, 2003, we granted Nichols an extension of time in which to file a pro se brief. We received no response from the appellant. Because the appeal involves the application of well-settled principles of law, we deliver this memorandum opinion. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.

The notice of appeal filed by Nichols failed to invoke our appellate jurisdiction to review issues relating to his conviction. White v. State, 61 S.W.3d 424, 428-29 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001). ⁽¹⁾ Although a general notice of appeal invokes our jurisdiction to consider issues relating to the process by which Nichols was punished, no error relating to punishment was preserved. Vidaurri v. State, 49 S.W.3d 880, 883, 885 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001).

We have reviewed the clerk's record and the reporter's record, and find no arguable error requiring us to order appointment of new counsel. Compare Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991).

The judgment is AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM

Submitted on June 30, 2003

Opinion Delivered July 16, 2003

Do Not Publish

Before McKeithen, C.J., Burgess and Gaultney, JJ.

1. For appeals commenced before January 1, 2003, in a plea-bargained, felony case, the notice of appeal must specify that the appeal is for a jurisdictional defect, specify that the substance of the appeal was raised by written motion and ruled on before trial, or state the trial court granted permission to appeal.

Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(b)(3).