Kathryn Denise McDuff v. the State of Texas

Opinion filed September 26, 2024

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals ___________ No. 11-24-00219-CR ___________ KATHRYN DENISE MCDUFF, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2 Taylor County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2-917-23

MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellant, Kathryn Denise McDuff, was convicted by a jury of speeding, a Class C misdemeanor. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. §§ 545.351–.352 (West 2022).

The jury assessed a fine of $25, and the trial court sentenced Appellant accordingly.

Appellant filed a notice of appeal on August 9, 2024. We advised Appellant by letters dated August 9, August 21, and September 10 that it did not appear that we had jurisdiction over her appeal, and requested that she submit a response showing grounds to continue the appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a). Appellant, through her counsel, responded to our jurisdictional inquiry by acknowledging that “the punishment imposed is less than the jurisdictional minimum.” Appellant further stated that she “cannot conceive . . . any good-faith argument” challenging the constitutionality of the statutory provisions that punish a conviction for speeding.

Pursuant to Article 4.03 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, our jurisdiction is limited to cases in which the final judgment of the trial court imposes a fine that exceeds $100, “unless the sole issue is the constitutionality of the statute or ordinance on which the conviction is based.” TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC.

ANN. art. 4.03 (West 2015). Appellant concedes that the fine assessed against her does not exceed $100, and she does not assert any constitutional challenges to Sections 545.351 and 545.352 of the Transportation Code. Consequently, we lack jurisdiction to consider her appeal.

Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal.

W. STACY TROTTER JUSTICE

September 26, 2024 Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J., Trotter, J., and Williams, J.