James Michael Gray v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: March 24, 2023
• Docket: 03-22-00748-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

NO. 03-22-00748-CR

James Michael Gray, Appellant

v.

The State of Texas, Appellee

FROM THE 36TH DISTRICT COURT OF ARANSAS COUNTY NO. A-22-5006-CR, THE HONORABLE PATRICK L. FLANIGAN, JUDGE PRESIDING

MEMORANDUM OPINION

James Michael Gray, acting pro se, filed a notice of appeal from an October 4,

2022 judgment convicting him of the offense of burglary of a habitation issued by the trial court

out of Aransas County, Texas. See Tex. Penal Code § 30.02. However, the criminal appellate

jurisdiction vested in this Court by the Texas Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure is

limited to counties in this Court’s appellate district. See Tex. Const., art. V, § 6 (providing that

courts of appeals “shall have appellate jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits of their respective

districts, which shall extend to all cases of which the District Courts or County Courts have

original or appellate jurisdiction, under such restrictions and regulations as may be prescribed by

law”); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 4.01 (establishing criminal jurisdiction in criminal actions

in courts of appeals), .03 (providing that courts of appeals “shall have appellate jurisdiction

coextensive with the limits of their respective districts in all criminal cases except those in which

the death penalty has been assessed”). Aransas County lies outside this Court’s appellate district. Compare Tex. Gov’t Code § 22.201(d) (listing twenty-four counties in Third Court’s district),

with id. § 22.201(n) (including Aransas County in list of counties in Thirteenth Court’s district).

Because Aransas County is outside the boundaries of our district, we lack appellate jurisdiction

in this matter, and we dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.3(a);

see also Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 523 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (listing section 22.201 of

Government Code among examples of laws that establish jurisdiction of courts of appeals);

Rodriguez v. State, 970 S.W.2d 133, 135 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 1998, pet. ref’d) (applying

Rule 42.3 in criminal context).

__________________________________________ Thomas J. Baker, Justice

Before Justices Baker, Smith, and Jones*

Dismissed for Want of Jurisdiction

Filed: March 24, 2023

Do Not Publish

*Before J. Woodfin Jones, Chief Justice (Retired), Third Court of Appeals, sitting by assignment. See Tex. Gov’t Code § 74.003(b).