Ex Parte Daniel Scott Peirsol v. the State of Texas
CourtTexas Court of Appeals, 3rd District (Austin)
Date FiledAugust 25, 2026
Docket03-26-00637-CR
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
NO. 03-26-00637-CR
Ex parte Daniel Scott Peirsol
FROM THE 368TH DISTRICT COURT OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY
NO. 26-0130-K368
THE HONORABLE SARAH SOELDNER BRUCHMILLER, JUDGE PRESIDING
ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OPINION
PER CURIAM
Appellant Daniel Scott Peirsol seeks to appeal the district court’s denial of his
pretrial application for writ of habeas corpus. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 11.08. The district
court’s docket sheet reflects that the court denied the application following a hearing. However,
the clerk’s record does not contain a signed, written order to that effect. Indeed, at the hearing on
the application, the district court offered the parties a choice between “reset[ting the case] for
another date for me to do my ruling on the record” and “mak[ing] a docket entry regarding my
ruling and you-all can be notified.” Both parties expressed a preference for the court to make a
docket entry.
“A written and signed appealable order is a prerequisite to invoking this Court’s
appellate jurisdiction.” Dewalt v. State, 417 S.W.3d 678, 685 n.32 (Tex. App.—Austin 2013, pet.
ref’d); see Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1); State v. Rosenbaum, 818 S.W.2d 398, 402 (Tex. Crim. App.
1991). The lack of a signed, written order is, however, curable: we treat the notice of appeal as
prematurely filed, abate the appeal, and remand the case to the district court for preparation of an
appealable order. Dewalt, 417 S.W.3d at 685 n.32 (citing Tex. R. App. P. 27.1(b); Ex parte
Crenshaw, 25 S.W.3d 761, 764 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2000, pet. ref’d); State v. Rollins,
4 S.W.3d 453, 454 & n.1 (Tex. App.—Austin 1999, no pet.)).
As well as a signed order, the record also lacks the district court’s certification of
appellant’s right of appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2) (requiring trial court to enter
certification of defendant’s right of appeal “each time it enters a judgment of guilt or other
appealable order”), (d) (requiring record to contain trial court’s certification); see also Vasquez
v. State, Nos. 03-13-00717-CR, 03-13-00718-CR, 2014 WL 3732962, at *1 n.2 (Tex. App.—
Austin July 25, 2014, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (agreeing that courts of
appeals have “jurisdiction over denials of applications for writs of habeas corpus asserting that the
amount of bail set was excessive”).
Accordingly, we abate this appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for entry
of a signed, written order on appellant’s pretrial habeas application and a certification of
appellant’s right of appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 44.4(b). A supplemental clerk’s record containing
the signed order and certification shall be prepared and filed with this Court no later than
September 17, 2026.
Before Justices Triana, Crump, and Ellis
Abated and Remanded
Filed: August 25, 2026
Do Not Publish
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