Court Opinion

ID: 9665837
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:58:02.846533+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:14.524233
License: Public Domain

BILL VANCE, Justice,
concurring.
This is another in a growing line of cases in which the defendant has been denied the right of appeal because of an unsound interpretation of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.
We have dismissed numerous appeals for failure to comply with the extra-notice provisions of Rule 25.2(b)(3). Tex.R.App. P. 25.2(b)(3). Twice, I dissented from published opinions: Craddock v. State, 32 S.W.3d 886, 888 (Tex.App.-Waco 2000, no pet.) (Vance, J., dissenting), where we dismissed the appeal without allowing an opportunity to amend, and Sipple v. State, 36 S.W.3d 592, 594 (Tex.App.-Waco 2000, pet. filed) (Vance, J., dissenting), where *419dismissal resulted in spite of an amended notice of appeal on file.2
In a concurring opinion in Casas v. State, I said:
Although I remain convinced that Craddock v. State was incorrectly decided, the court correctly applies that decision in this appeal. Craddock v. State, 32 S.W.3d 886 (Tex.App.-Waco, 2000). Accordingly, I join the court’s opinion and will hereafter do so in similar circumstances.
Casas v. State, 33 S.W.3d 874, 875 (Tex.App.-Waco 2000, pet. ref'd) (Vance, J., concurring). Now, however, the Court of Criminal Appeals has refused the petition for discretionary review in Casas. So, I write again.
Rule 25.2(d) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provides the mechanism to correct a defective notice of appeal:
(d) Amending the Notice. An amended notice of appeal correcting a defect or omission in an earlier filed notice may be filed in the appellate court at any time before the appellant’s brief is filed. The amended notice is subject to being struck for cause on the motion of any party affected by the amended notice. After the appellant’s brief is filed, the notice may be amended only on leave of the appellate court and on such terms as the court may prescribe.
Tex.R.App. P. 25.2(d). The rule as written allows Marbut to amend her notice of appeal because her brief has not been filed. Id.
Rule 25.2(d) was adopted by the Court of Criminal Appeals. Its meaning is plain. Until the Court either repeals the rule or explains why the provision allowing amendment has no application, I will continue to believe that dismissal is improper when we do not allow the defendant an opportunity to amend the notice of appeal as allowed by the Rule. When a procedure traps too many unsuspecting appellants, it is time to examine the reasons why.
Furthermore, such a dismissal ultimately results in a waste of judicial resources. See Craddock, 32 S.W.3d at 890; Sipple, 36 S.W.3d at 596. It also runs counter to the goal of harmonizing the interpretation and application of the combined appellate rules in civil and criminal cases. See id.
Because of the number of defendants who are being denied their right to appellate review without justification and in violation of the clear terms of Rule 25.2(d), I concur only because of our prior decisions cited above.

. State v. Riewe, 13 S.W.3d 408, 410 (Tex.Crim.App.2000), on which Craddock and Sipple are based, involved a state’s notice of appeal, which is governed by article 44.01 of the Code of Criminal Procedure rather than Rule 25.2 of the appellate rules.