Leonardo Molina v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 27, 2021
• Docket: 13-21-00225-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

NUMBER 13-21-00225-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

LEONARDO MOLINA, Appellant,

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

On appeal from the 445th District Court of Cameron County, Texas.

ORDER Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Benavides and Silva Order Per Curiam

Appellant, Leonardo Molina, has filed a notice of appeal with this Court from his

conviction in trial court cause number 2020-DCR-2011. The trial court’s certification of

the defendant’s right to appeal shows that the defendant does not have the right to

appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2). The Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure

provide that an appeal must be dismissed if a certification showing that a defendant has a right of appeal is not made a part of the record. Id. R. 25.2(d); see id. R. 37.1, 44.3,

44.4. The purpose of the certification requirement is to efficiently sort appealable cases

from non-appealable cases so that appealable cases can “move through the system

unhindered while eliminating, at an early stage, the time and expense associated with

non-appealable cases.” Greenwell v. Ct. of Apps. for the Thirteenth Jud. Dist., 159

S.W.3d 645, 649 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); see Hargesheimer v. State, 182 S.W.3d 906,

912 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).

Within thirty days of this notice, appellant’s lead appellate counsel, Edward A.

Stapleton III, is hereby ORDERED to: 1) review the record; 2) determine whether

appellant has a right to appeal; and 3) forward to this Court, by letter, counsel’s findings

as to whether appellant has a right to appeal and/or advise this Court as to the

existence of any amended certification.

If appellant’s counsel determines that appellant has a right to appeal, counsel is

further ORDERED to file a motion with this Court within thirty days of this notice,

identifying and explaining substantive reasons why appellant has a right to appeal. See

TEX. R. APP. P. 44.3, 44.4; Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 614–15 (Tex. Crim. App.

2005); see also, e.g., Carroll v. State, 119 S.W.3d 838, 841 (Tex. App.—San Antonio

2003, no pet.) (certification form provided in appendix to appellate rules may be

modified to reflect that defendant has right of appeal under circumstances not

addressed by the form). The motion must include an analysis of the applicable case

law, and any factual allegations therein must be true and supported by the record. See

Dears, 154 S.W.3d at 614–15; cf. Woods v. State, 108 S.W.3d 314, 316 (Tex. Crim.

App. 2003) (construing former appellate rule 25.2(b)(3) and holding that recitations in

the notice of appeal must be true and supported by the record). Copies of record

2 documents necessary to evaluate the alleged error in the certification affecting

appellant’s right to appeal shall be attached to the motion. See TEX. R. APP. P. 10.1,

10.2.

PER CURIAM

Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

Delivered and filed on the 27th day of July, 2021.