The Court of Appeals denied the State's request to amend and dismissed the appeal for want of jurisdiction. 44.01 and be filed within fifteen days of the order appealed in order to invoke the jurisdiction of the appellate court. The State argued that Muller does not control because the 1997 amendments to the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure allow a party to amend its notice of appeal. The Court of Appeals rejected this argument, noting that the rules may not be employed to enlarge the substantive rights of litigants. Jurisdiction Jurisdiction concerns the power of a court to hear and determine a case.
Appellate jurisdiction is invoked by giving notice of appeal.
In addition, in State-prosecuted appeals, the failure of the elected prosecuting attorney, as opposed to an assistant, to make the appeal is a jurisdictional defect. 44.01, it made clear its intent to afford the State the same appellate powers afforded the federal government under 18 U.S.C. 3731. The appeal in all such cases shall be taken within thirty days after the decision, judgment or order has been rendered and shall be diligently prosecuted. Federal courts have held that the certification requirement in this statute is not jurisdictional. 44.01 was borrowed from 18 U.S.C. 3731, and the federal requirement is not jurisdictional, then the state requirement must not be jurisdictional.