Trevino v. State
Trevino v. State
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I write separately to point out that the Texas Constitution does create the right to appeal,
As I have stated previously,
The cornerstone of the restricted appeal from an adjudication hearing is not that the right to appeal is a legislatively created right, as this court has erroneously stated in the past. Rather, it is that the constitutionally-grounded right to appeal may be regulated by the legislature.3 Specifically, “in this state, the right of appeal is conferred only by the Constitution, with such exceptions or limitations as the legislature directs by statute.”4 Constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection require that once the right to appeal a criminal conviction exists, it must be fairly applied.5
The legislature has prohibited a defendant’s questioning the decision to adjudicate.
To hold that the legislature may suspend all constitutional guarantees to persons on deferred adjudication community supervision invites capricious and arbitrary decisions to adjudicate.
I would hold that Appellant may challenge the admissibility of evidence at the adjudication hearing as well as the legal sufficiency of the evidence to prove a violation. The courts have already recognized that a defendant may challenge the impartiality of the judge and the fairness of the proceeding.
Because the majority relies on the mistaken premise that the Texas Constitution does not provide a right to appellate review of criminal convictions in summarily holding that article 42.12, section 5(b) is not facially unconstitutional, I respectfully dissent.
. Tex. Const, art. V, § 5(a), (b).
. Id.
. Rinaldi v. Yeager, 384 U.S. 305, 310, 86 S.Ct. 1497, 1500, 16 L.Ed.2d 577 (1966); Rhynes v. State, 828 S.W.2d 1, 2 (Tex.Crim.App. 1992).
. Millican v. State, 145 Tex.Crim. 195, 167 S.W.2d 188, 191 (1943) (op. onreh’g).
. Small v. State, 977 S.W.2d 771, 776-77 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1998, no pet.) (Dauphinot, J., concurring).
. See Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 42.12, § 5(b) (Vernon Supp.2004-05).
. Of course, a writ of habeas corpus under Article 11.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure is always available, but it seems an unnecessary burden to place on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
. See Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 782, 93 S.Ct. 1756, 1759-60, 36 L.Ed.2d 656 (1973); Ruedas v. State, 586 S.W.2d 520, 523 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1979).
. See Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 481, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 2600, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972).
. Eldridge v. State, 731 S.W.2d 618, 619 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1987, no pet.); see Gilbert v. State, 852 S.W.2d 623, 625-26 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 1993, no pet.) ("[A]rt. 42.12, § 5(b) ... is not intended to preclude challenges to all of the rulings a trial court may potentially make in the course of a deferred adjudication proceeding.... The adjudication hearing must provide a defendant
. See, e.g., Earley, 855 S.W.2d at 262-63.
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
Appellant Marissa Yvonne Trevino appeals the trial court’s judgment adjudicating her guilty of the offense of possession of methamphetamine of one gram or more but less than four grams and sentencing her to four years’ confinement. In a single point, she claims that her due process rights under the Texas Constitution were violated when her probation was revoked pursuant to code of criminal procedure article 42.12, section 5. See Tex.Code CRIM. PROC. Ann. art. 42.12, § 5 (Vernon Supp. 2004-05). Appellant argues that the statute is facially unconstitutional because it implements a total restriction on appellate complaints involving the trial court’s decision to adjudicate. The court of criminal appeals has held that the Texas Constitution does not provide a right to appellate review of criminal convictions; the Legislature therefore may properly limit or even deny the right to appeal a criminal conviction entirely. Phynes v. State, 828 S.W.2d 1, 2 (Tex.Crim.App. 1992); see also Henderson v. State, 132 S.W.3d 112, 114 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2004, no pet.). Consequently, the statutory denial of the right to appeal as set forth in article 42.12, section 5(b) is not facially unconstitutional. Phynes, 828 S.W.2d at 2. We overrule
DAUPHINOT, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.