In the

Court of Appeals

Second Appellate District of Texas

at Fort Worth

___________________________

No. 02-23-00023-CR

___________________________

On Appeal from the 396th District Court

Tarrant County, Texas

Trial Court No. 1721864D

Before Womack, Wallach, and Walker, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack

DEBRA ANTHONY, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS
2

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Debra Anthony attempts to appeal her conviction for driving while 

intoxicated and felony repetition. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 49.09. Anthony 

pleaded guilty to that offense pursuant to a plea-bargain agreement, and the trial court 

sentenced her in accordance with that agreement to eight years’ confinement and an 

$1,100 fine, with the confinement suspended and Anthony placed on community 

supervision for five years. Under the written plea admonishments that were signed by 

Anthony, Anthony waived her right to appeal. Specifically, through those written plea 

admonishments, Anthony stated, “I give up and waive any and all rights of appeal in 

this case.” Anthony also stated, “I give up and waive all pretrial motions that may 

have been filed in my case.” Consistent with Anthony’s plea-bargain agreement, the 

“Trial Court’s [Amended] Certification of Defendant’s Right of Appeal” in this case 

reflects that this “is a plea-bargain case, and the defendant has NO right of appeal.”

1

See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2), (d). 

On February 23, 2023, we notified Anthony of the amended certification and 

warned her that we would dismiss the appeal unless we received a response by 

1The trial court initially signed a certification in which boxes were marked to 

indicate that (1) this “is a plea-bargain case, but matters were raised by written motion 

filed and ruled on before trial and not withdrawn or waived, and the defendant has 

the right of appeal”; and (2) this “is a plea-bargain case, and the defendant has NO 

right of appeal.” The trial court later amended that certification, scratching out the 

box that had been marked to indicate that this “is a plea-bargain case, but matters 

were raised by written motion filed and ruled on before trial and not withdrawn or 

waived, and the defendant has the right of appeal.”
3

March 6, 2023, showing grounds for continuing the appeal. See Tex. R. App. 

P. 25.2(a)(2), (d), 44.3. While Anthony filed a response, it does not show grounds for 

continuing the appeal.2In accordance with the trial court’s amended certification, we 

dismiss Anthony’s appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(d), 43.2(f); see, e.g., Hubatch v. State, 

No. 02-22-00153-CR, 2022 WL 4105417, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Sept. 8, 2022, 

no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication).

/s/ Dana Womack

Dana Womack

Justice

Do Not Publish

Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)

Delivered: June 22, 2023

2

In her response, Anthony claims that she intended to retain “the right to 

appeal matters that were raised in written form and ruled on by the trial court prior to

the plea” and that taking away her right to appeal would render her plea involuntary. 

We disagree. As noted above, in the written plea admonishments, Anthony 

specifically stated that she was giving up and waiving “all rights of appeal in this case”

and “all pretrial motions that may have been filed in [her] case.” And there is nothing 

in the record—no reporter’s record was made of Anthony’s plea—to indicate that

those written waivers were not made voluntarily. See Monreal v. State, 99 S.W.3d 615, 

622 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (holding that a valid waiver of appeal will prevent a 

defendant from appealing without the trial court’s consent); Connella v. State, No. 2-06-

360-CR, 2006 WL 3751406, at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Dec. 21, 2006, no pet.)

(per curiam) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (rejecting appellant’s 

argument that he should be able to appeal matters raised by pretrial motions and ruled

upon prior to trial where he signed a written waiver in which he “not only waived his 

right to appeal but also gave up and waived all pretrial motions that may have been 

filed in connection with his case”).