Court Opinion

ID: 9668761
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 02:24:56.65635+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:47.950150
License: Public Domain

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
JUNELL, Justice.
In his motion for rehearing, appellant contends that the court’s holding in this cause constitutes a repudiation of Salazar v. State, 773 S.W.2d 34 (Tex.App. — Houston [14th Dist.] 1989, no pet.).
The Salazar opinion pre-dates Jones v. State, 796 S.W.2d 183 (Tex.Crim.App.1990), in which the court of criminal appeals held lack of compliance with Tex.R.App.P. 40(b)(1) results in a failure “to preserve any nonjurisdictional defects for ... appeal.” 796 S.W.2d at 186. Although Jones involved a plea to a felony offense, the court of criminal appeals made no attempt to distinguish the application of Rule 40(b)(1) on the basis of whether the offense upon which the plea was entered is classified as a felony or as a misdemeanor.
As the dissenting opinion of Chief Justice Brown points out in Salazar, there is a conflict between the various courts of appeals (and in one instance in opinions from the same court of appeals) concerning the applicability of Rule 40(b)(1) to misdemean- or pleas of guilty or nolo contendere. 773 S.W.2d at 39. As Chief Justice Brown also says, if Rule 40(b)(1) is held not to apply to misdemeanor pleas, there is as much reason to hold that would bar any appeal of a misdemeanor plea (except upon jurisdictional defects) as there is to hold that the right to appeal misdemeanor pleas of guilty or nolo contendere is completely unfettered. 773 S.W.2d at 39.1
This is obviously a situation where guidance is desirable from the court of criminal appeals to resolve the conflict in interpretations of the language of Rule 40(b)(1). It is to be hoped that the court of criminal appeals will seize the opportunity presented by the instant appeal to provide such guidance.
We overrule appellant’s motion for rehearing.

. The Austin Court of Appeals held in Collins v. State, 795 S.W.2d 777 (Tex.App. — Austin 1990, no pet.), that the rule of Helms v. State, 484 S.W.2d 925 (Tex.Crim.App.1972), applies with full force to misdemeanor pleas, barring review of nonjurisdictional defects. Justice Gammage then took the analysis a step further, deciding that, under Broddus v. State, 693 S.W.2d 459 (Tex.Crim.App.1985), the appellant’s plea was "conditional” and, therefore, involuntary. 795 S.W.2d at 778. Were we to apply Helms and Broddus to the instant situation, since it is clear appellant conditioned his plea of guilty on his right to appeal the ruling on his pretrial motion to suppress, we would be forced to find his plea was thereby rendered involuntary.