Northington v. State

Appellant pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was placed on deferred adjudication community supervision, pursuant to a plea agreement. Several months later, the trial court adjudicated Appellants guilt and sentenced her to confinement for five years. Appellant filed a general notice of appeal. The Court of Appeals inquired about the issues Appellant would be raising under the general notice of appeal in this appeal from the adjudication of guilt and assessment of punishment. Appellant argued she could raise jurisdictional issues and an issue about the voluntariness of the guilty plea. The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. Northington v. State,43 S.W.3d 546 (Tex. App.- Fort Worth 2001). The court held that Appellant could not raise those issues on appeal because the notice of appeal did not comply with Tex.R.App.P. 25.2(b)(3) and because voluntariness of the plea involved the original deferred adjudication proceeding, which could not be raised in the appeal from the adjudication of guilt. Id. at 548. Appellant has filed a petition for discretionary review complaining of the Court of Appeals holdings.