Rule 25.2 - Criminal Cases(a)Rights to Appeal.(1) Of the State. The State is entitled to appeal a court's order in a criminal case as provided by Code of Criminal Procedure article 44.01.(2) Of the Defendant. A defendant in a criminal case has the right of appeal under Code of Criminal Procedure article 44.02 and these rules. The trial court shall enter a certification of the defendant's right of appeal each time it enters a judgment of guilt or other appealable order other than an order appealable under Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 64. In a plea bargain case - that is, a case in which a defendant's plea was guilty or nolo contendere and the punishment did not exceed the punishment recommended by the prosecutor and agreed to by the defendant - a defendant may appeal only: (A) those matters that were raised by written motion filed and ruled on before trial,(B) after getting the trial court's permission to appeal, or(C) where the specific appeal is expressly authorized by statute.(b)Perfection of Appeal. In a criminal case, appeal is perfected by timely filing a sufficient notice of appeal. In a death-penalty case it is unnecessary to file a notice of appeal, but, in every death-penalty case, the clerk of the trial court shall file a notice of conviction with the Court of Criminal Appeals within thirty days after the defendant is sentenced to death.(c)Form and Sufficiency of Notice.(1) Notice must be given in writing and filed with the trial court clerk. If the notice of appeal is received in the court of appeals, the clerk of that court shall immediately record on the notice the date that it was received and send the notice to the trial court clerk.(2) Notice is sufficient if it shows the party's desire to appeal from the judgment or other appealable order, and, if the State is the appellant, the notice complies with Code of Criminal Procedure article 44.01.(d)Certification of Defendant's Right of Appeal. If the defendant is the appellant, the record must include the trial court's certification of the defendant's right of appeal under Rule 25.2(a)(2). The certification shall include a notice that the defendant has been informed of his rights concerning an appeal, as well as any right to file a pro se petition for discretionary review. This notification shall be signed by the defendant, with a copy given to him. The certification should be part of the record when notice is filed, but may be added by timely amendment or supplementation under this rule or Rule 34.5(c)(1) or Rule 37.1 or by order of the appellate court under Rule 34.5(c)(2). The appeal must be dismissed if a certification that shows the defendant has the right of appeal has not been made part of the record under these rules.(e)Trial Court Clerk's Duties. The trial court clerk must note on the copies of the notice of appeal and the trial court's certification of the defendant's right of appeal the case number and the date when each was filed. The clerk must then immediately deliver one copy of each to the clerk of the appropriate court of appeals, to the trial judge, to each court reporter responsible for preparing the reporter's record, and, if the defendant is the appellant, one copy of each to the State's attorney.(f)Amending the Notice or Certification. An amended notice of appeal or trial court's certification of the defendant's right of appeal correcting a defect or omission in an earlier filed notice or certification, including a defect in the notification of the defendant's appellate rights, may be filed in the appellate court in accordance with Rule 37.1, or at any time before the appealing party's brief is filed if the court of appeals has not used Rule 37.1. The amended notice or certification is subject to being struck for cause on the motion of any party affected by the amended notice or certification. After the appealing party's brief is filed, the notice or certification may be amended only on leave of the appellate court and on such terms as the court may prescribe.(g)Effect of Appeal. Once the record has been filed in the appellate court, all further proceedings in the trial court - except as provided otherwise by law or by these rules - will be suspended until the trial court receives the appellate - court mandate.(h)Advice of Right of Appeal. When a court enters a judgment or other appealable order and the defendant has a right of appeal, the court (orally or in writing) shall advise the defendant of his right of appeal and of the requirements for timely filing a sufficient notice of appeal. Amended November 5, 2018, effective 12/1/2018; amended February 11, 2020, effective 3/1/2020.Notes and Comments
Comment on 1997 change: This is former Rule 40. In civil cases, the requirement of an appeal bond is repealed. Appeal is perfected by filing a notice of appeal. A notice must be filed by any party seeking to alter the trial court's judgment. The restricted appeal - formerly the appeal by writ of error - is perfected by filing a notice of appeal in the trial court as in other appeals. The contents of the notice of appeal is prescribed. The notice of limitation of appeal is repealed. In criminal cases, the rule is amended to apply to notices by the State, and to refer to additional statutory requirements for the State's notice. In felony cases in which the defendant waived trial by jury, pleaded guilty or nolo contendere, and received a punishment that did not exceed what the defendant agreed to in a plea bargain, the rule is amended to make clear that regardless of when the alleged error occurred, an appeal must be based on a jurisdictional defect or a written motion ruled on before trial, or be with the permission of the trial court.
Comment to 2002 change: Rule 25.2, for criminal cases, is amended. Subdivision 25.2(a) states the parties' rights of appeal that are established by Code of Criminal Procedure article 44.01 and by article 44.02, the proviso of which was repealed when rulemaking power was given to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Subdivision 25.2(b) is given the requirement that a notice of appeal be in "sufficient" form, which codifies the decisional law. The requirement in former subdivision 25.2(b)(3) that a plea-bargaining appellant's notice of appeal specify the right of appeal is replaced by a requirement in subdivision 25.2(d) that the trial court certify the defendant's right of appeal in every case in which a judgment or other appealable order is entered. The certificate should be signed at the time the judgment or other appealable order is pronounced. The form of certification of the defendant's right of appeal is provided in an appendix to these rules. If the record does not include the trial court's certification that the defendant has the right of appeal, the appeal must be dismissed. If a sufficient notice of appeal or certification is not filed after the appellate court deals with the defect (see Rules 34.5(c) and 37.1 ), preparation of an appellate record and representation by an appointed attorney may cease.