Case Information
*1 IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-17-00185-CR CHRISTOPHER K. SCHMOTZER,
Appellant v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee From the 85th District Court Brazos County, Texas Trial Court No. 09-1287-CRF-85 MEMORANDUM OPINION
Christopher K. Schmotzer, a prison inmate, filed a notice of appeal from an order of the trial court granting the State’s motion to release biological evidence.
The right of appeal in criminal cases is conferred by the Legislature, and a party may appeal only from judgments of conviction or interlocutory orders authorized as
appealable. See T EX . C ODE C RIM . P ROC . A NN . art. 44.02 (West 2006); T EX . R. A PP . P. 25.2(a)(2). We do not have jurisdiction to review interlocutory orders unless jurisdiction has been expressly granted by law. Apolinar v. State , 820 S.W.2d 792, 794 (Tex. Crim. App. *2 1991). See also Abbott v. State , 271 S.W.3d 694, 696-97 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) ("The standard for determining jurisdiction is not whether the appeal is precluded by law, but whether the appeal is authorized by law."). The order about which Schmotzer complains is not a final conviction, and there is no statutory authorization to appeal the granting of a motion to release biological evidence.
Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed for want of jurisdiction. Schmotzer’s request for appointment of counsel on appeal is also dismissed. TOM GRAY Chief Justice Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Davis, and
Justice Scoggins
Appeal dismissed
Motion dismissed
Opinion delivered and filed June 14, 2017
Do not publish
[CR25]
Schmotzer v. State Page 2