Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Martin Tovar Zapata appealed from a judgment adjudicating his guilt in the 427th District Court of Travis County. The trial court judgment contained a clerical error: it spelled appellant’s surname as “Tavarzapata” rather than the correct “Tovar Zapata,” as confirmed by appellant’s own testimony during trial. After filing his appeal, Zapata filed a motion to dismiss that appeal, signed by both himself and his attorney.
The Court’s Holding
The Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, granted the motion to dismiss the appeal. Before doing so, the court exercised its authority to correct the judgment by modifying the misspelled surname to accurately reflect “Martin Tovar Zapata” in the judgment adjudicating guilt. The court relied on Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 43.2(b), which permits appellate courts to correct or reform a judgment when the necessary information is available to do so.
Key Takeaways
- Appellate courts possess authority to correct clerical errors in judgments when the record contains sufficient information to support the correction.
- Name misspellings in judgments are correctible errors that do not prevent resolution of the appeal.
- A jointly signed motion to dismiss by an appellant and counsel is properly granted under Texas appellate rules.
Why It Matters
This decision reinforces that appellate courts need not allow clerical or administrative errors—such as misspelled names—to distort the formal record. When information in the record clearly establishes the correct fact, courts may correct the judgment before final disposition. This authority prevents judgments from containing inaccuracies that could cause confusion in criminal records or subsequent proceedings.