Blanton, Donald Gene

Where does a defendant’s right to appeal a nunc pro tunc judgment come from? The Court never gives a good answer to that question because there is none.

After a defendant has been convicted and the direct-appeal process has been exhausted, an appellate court can act only in accordance with a directive from a higher court or pursuant to specific statutory authorization.1 So what statute authorizes a defendant’s appeal of a nunc pro tunc judgment? The Court points to Rule of Appellate Procedure 23.1:

Unless the trial court has granted a new trial or arrested a judgment, or unless the defendant…