COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS

To relieve the Supreme Court of some of its caseload, the Constitution of 1876 created the Court of Appeals, composed of three elected judges, with appellate jurisdiction in all criminal cases and in those civil cases tried by the county courts. In 1891, a constitutional amendment:

• Changed the name of this court to the Court of Criminal Appeals

• Limited its jurisdiction to appellate jurisdiction in criminal cases only

• Increased the number of judges to nine: one presiding judge and eight associate judges

The Court of Criminal Appeals is the highest state court for criminal appeals.8 Its caseload consists of both mandatory and discretionary matters. All cases that result in the death penalty are automatically directed to the Court of Criminal Appeals from the trial court level. A significant portion of the Court’s workload also involves the mandatory review of applications for post-conviction habeas corpus relief in felony cases without a death penalty,9 over which the Court has sole authority. In addition, decisions made by the intermediate courts of appeals in criminal cases may be appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals by petition for discretionary review, which may be filed by the State, the defendant, or both. However, the Court may also review a decision on its own motion.