Appellant pled guilty and was convicted by the trial court of possession of cocaine. The trial court followed the plea agreement and sentenced Appellant to confinement for twenty months. Appellant sought to appeal the trial court's denial of his pre-trial motion to suppress and filed a timely notice of appeal. However, the general notice of appeal did not meet the requirements of Tex.R.App.P. 25.2(b)(3). After the time for filing a notice of appeal had expired, but before briefs were filed, Appellant requested leave to file an amended notice of appeal complying with Rule 25.2(b)(3). See Rule 25.2(d).
The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeals for lack of jurisdiction, stating that once the court lost jurisdiction over an appeal based on the filing of a defective notice of appeal, Rule 25.2(d) could not be used to give the court jurisdiction over the appeal. Dawson v. State, No. 01-00-00077-CR (Tex. App. - Houston [1st dist.], delivered March 29, 2001). The court referenced State v. Riewe, 13 S.W.3d 408 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).
In Bayless v. State, ___S.W.3d___ (Tex. Crim. App. No. 56-01, delivered December 18, 2002), this Court held that under Rule 25.2(d), a defendant is permitted to file an amended notice of appeal curing any defects in an earlier filed notice. When the Court of Appeals decided this case, it did not have the benefit of this Court's opinion in Bayless. Accordingly, we grant Appellant's petition for discretionary review, vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand to that court for reconsideration in light of our opinion in Bayless.
Delivered: January 29, 2003
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