Steve O'Neal Green v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: February 27, 2025
• Docket: 10-25-00030-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Court of Appeals Tenth Appellate District of Texas

10-25-00030-CR

Steve O'Neal Green, Appellant

v.

The State of Texas, Appellee

On appeal from the 272nd District Court of Brazos County, Texas Judge John L. Brick, presiding Trial Court Cause No. 23-04189-CRF-272

JUSTICE SMITH delivered the opinion of the Court.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant, Steve Green, filed an appeal appearing to complain of the

denial of his right to a speedy trial. We informed Green that it did not appear

that there was an appealable order and gave him 14 days to respond to show

that this Court has jurisdiction over his complaints. Green did not respond,

and we find nothing in his notice of appeal that gives us jurisdiction over this

proceeding. Green has not yet been convicted in his case; thus, this appeal is

interlocutory. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a) (notice of appeal due within specified

time period after sentence is imposed or suspended in open court or after trial

court enters appealable order).

A court has jurisdiction over criminal appeals only when expressly

granted by law. See Abbott v. State, 271 S.W.3d 694, 696-97 (Tex. Crim. App.

2008) (standard for determining jurisdiction is not whether appeal is precluded

by law, but whether appeal is authorized by law). We have no jurisdiction of

an interlocutory appeal of the denial of a motion for speedy trial. See Ex parte

Delbert, 582 S.W.2d 145, 146 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1979) (citing

Ordunez v. Bean, 579 S.W.2d 911 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979)); see United States v.

MacDonald, 435 U.S. 850, 862, 98 S. Ct. 1547, 56 L. Ed. 2d 18 (1978) ("Allowing

an exception to the rule against pretrial appeals in criminal cases for speedy

trial claims would threaten precisely the values manifested in the Speedy Trial

Clause.").

Therefore, we have no jurisdiction of this appeal and it is dismissed.

STEVE SMITH Justice

Green v. State Page 2 OPINION DELIVERED and FILED: February 27, 2025 Before Chief Justice Johnson, Justice Smith, and Justice Harris Dismissed Do not publish OT06

Green v. State Page 3