Opinion
No. 05-01-01585-CR.
Opinion Issued January 15, 2003. DO NOT PUBLISH, Tex.R.App.P. 47.
Appeal from the 292nd Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas, Trial Court Cause No. F01-54585-IV. AFFIRMED.
Before Justices MORRIS, JAMES, and FITZGERALD.
OPINION
In this case, Eddie James Jackson appeals his conviction for possession of heroin in an amount less than one gram. In a single point of error, appellant contends the sentence imposed is void because the magistrate did not have jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea. We affirm the trial court's judgment. Appellant contends the magistrate did not have jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea because there was no transfer order from the district court to an auxiliary criminal magistrate court before sentencing. Thus, appellant argues, the sentence imposed by the district court after his guilty plea to the magistrate is void. The State argues appellant forfeited his complaint because he failed to timely object to the absence of a transfer order and the sentence is not void for lack of jurisdiction because appellant consented in writing to the referral to a magistrate. Appellant did not file a plea to the magistrate's jurisdiction or in any way complain to the trial court about the lack of a transfer order. Consequently, appellant's complaint concerning this issue, raised for the first time on appeal, is untimely. See Sharkey v. State, 994 S.W.2d 417, 419 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 1999, no pet.). Morever, district court judges may refer to a magistrate criminal cases that involve any matter the judge considers "necessary and proper." Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 54.306 (Vernon Supp. 2003). The magistrate is not a judge in his own right, but acts as a surrogate of the duly elected judge of the district court. Davis v. State, 956 S.W.2d 555, 559 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997). A transfer order is not required for a magistrate to hear a plea. A district judge, however, must issue an order of referral to refer a case to a magistrate. Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 54.307 (Vernon 1998). In this case, the record contains a "Request for Referral to Magistrate" signed by appellant, appellant's counsel, and the prosecutor. The record also contains an "Order of Referral," signed by both the district judge and the magistrate, that refers the case to the magistrate. The magistrate had jurisdiction to hear appellant's guilty plea. The sentence is not void. We overrule appellant's sole point of error. We affirm the trial court's judgment.