About the Court

After a trial court has decided a criminal case, the State or the defendant may appeal to a higher court.

The appeals of all cases in which the death penalty has been assessed come directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals from the trial courts. The appeals of all other criminal cases go to one of the fourteen Courts of Appeals in Texas, and their decisions may be reviewed by the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The "Texas Courts Online" horizontal menu (located at the top of this web page) will give you links to the Texas Judiciary, which includes the Courts of Appeals and other parts of Texas' judicial system [pdf-brochure].

In the 2010 fiscal year, the Court of Criminal Appeals received 13 appeals in death-penalty cases. The Courts of Appeals received 4,926 appeals in other criminal cases, and in 1,520 of those appeals the Court of Criminal Appeals was asked to grant further review. The Court granted review in 85 of them. After deciding each appeal, the Court delivers a written opinion that explains the reason for its decision.

The Court also has sole authority to grant the writ of habeas corpus to a person who has been convicted of a felony (which is a crime that is punishable by death or by imprisonment in the Department of Criminal Justice). In the 2010 fiscal year, the Court received 4,275 habeas-corpus petitions and 54 death penalty habeas-corpus petitions.

The appeals and habeas-corpus petitions give the Court of Criminal Appeals the heaviest caseload of any appellate court in the United States.

In addition to its caseload, the Court of Criminal Appeals has the responsibilities to:

1. promulgate rules of evidence for the trials of criminal cases,
   
   
2. promulgate rules of appellate procedure for criminal cases, and
   
   
3. administer public funds that are appropriated for the education of the judges and lawyers of Texas.