Deadlines After A Conviction
Crim. Proc. art. 44.02 — the right to appeal, and the clocks the code itself sets
The right to appeal. A defendant in any criminal action has the right of appeal under the rules the code prescribes. After a plea of guilty or nolo contendere where the court assessed punishment that does not exceed what the prosecutor recommended and the defendant and the defendant's attorney agreed to, the defendant needs the trial court's permission to appeal, except on matters raised by written motion filed before trial.
The state's appeal: 20 days. The state may appeal an order that dismisses a charge, arrests or modifies a judgment, grants a new trial, sustains a claim of former jeopardy, grants a motion to suppress in the cases the article describes, is issued under the chapter on DNA testing, or grants bail the prosecutor considers insufficient in the cases it lists, and may appeal a sentence as illegal. The prosecuting attorney may not make such an appeal later than the 20th day after the order, ruling or sentence is entered.
A revocation. A defendant whose community supervision is revoked, and who is called on to serve a sentence in a jail or in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, may appeal the revocation.
After final conviction. An application for a writ of habeas corpus after final conviction in a felony case, other than one with a death sentence, is filed with the clerk of the court where the conviction was obtained. The attorney representing the state answers not later than the 30th day after receiving it, and within 20 days after the time to answer expires the convicting court decides whether there are controverted, previously unresolved facts material to the confinement. The grounds, and the bar on a later application, are on their own page.
DNA testing. A convicted person may ask the convicting court, by motion with a sworn affidavit, for forensic DNA testing of evidence with a reasonable likelihood of containing biological material that was secured in relation to the offense and was in the state's possession during the trial. The court sends the motion to the state, which, not later than the 60th day after it is served, either delivers the evidence to the court with a description of its condition or explains in writing why it cannot. The court may proceed after that period whether or not the state responded.
A defendant's own time to file a notice of appeal, a motion for new trial, and the steps of an appeal are set by the Rules of Appellate Procedure, which are not on this page. The habeas article names no period for filing an application, and how courts treat delay is not on this page either. Federal habeas corpus has a deadline of its own. Whether a deadline has passed in a particular case is a question for a licensed Texas attorney.
Sources for this section (6)
- Crim. Proc. art. 44.02 — Defendant may appeal
- Crim. Proc. art. 44.01 — Appeal by state
- Crim. Proc. art. 42A.755 — Revocation of community supervision
- Crim. Proc. art. 11.07 — Procedure after conviction without death penalty
- Crim. Proc. art. 64.01 — Motion for forensic DNA testing
- Crim. Proc. art. 64.02 — Notice to state; response
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.