Ely v. State

582 S.W.2d 416
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 3, 1979
Docket56623
StatusPublished
Cited by328 cases

This text of 582 S.W.2d 416 (Ely v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ely v. State, 582 S.W.2d 416 (Tex. 1979).

Opinions

OPINION

PHILLIPS, Judge.

This is an appeal from four misdemeanor convictions for deceptive business practices. Punishment was assessed at 180 days imprisonment and a $2,000.00 fine on each of the four counts.

Appellant’s first ground of error contends that V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 32.42 is void as violative of the Texas and United States Constitutions in that it (1) is vague and indefinite and (2) “fails to sufficiently describe the actions it purports to declare as criminal.” The pertinent provision of V.T. C.A., Penal Code, Section 32.42 being challenged by appellant is Section 32.-42(b)(12)(B), which provides:

(b) A person commits an offense if in the course of business he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence commits one or more of the following deceptive business practices:
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(12) making a materially false or misleading statement:
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(B) otherwise in connection with the purchase or sale of property or service.

Subsection (d) provides that an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. See V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 12.21.

Appellant’s first line of attack on the statute is that it fails to specifically describe the conduct denounced. This failure to specifically describe the conduct denounced results in a vague and indefinite statute which is enforceable on an arbitrary and erratic basis by law enforcement officials, according to appellant. The basis of this contention is that the statute fails to describe specifically what constitutes “a [419]*419materially false or misleading statement.” Appellant concedes that the purpose of this statute is to protect consumers from unethical business practices. It is clear that the statute speaks in terms of the evil to be cured, i. e., to prevent “materially false or misleading statements” from being used in connection with the purchase or sale of property or services. As was stated in Boyce Motor Lines Inc. v. U. S., 342 U.S. 337 at 340, 72 S.Ct. 329 at 331, 96 L.Ed. 367 (1952), “most statutes must deal with untold and unforeseen variations in factual situations.” To require elaborate specificity as to what constitutes “materially false or misleading statements” would undermine the efficacy of the statute. The ingenuity of humans would quickly learn ways to circumvent the specific proscriptions.

The requirement of reasonable certainty does not preclude the use of ordinary terms to express ideas which find adequate interpretation in common usage and understanding.
Sproles v. Binford, 286 U.S. 374, 52 S.Ct. 581, 587, 76 L.Ed. 1167 (1932).

The failure to specifically elaborate each “materially false or misleading statement” which, when made in connection with the purchase or sale of property or service, constitutes an offense does not render this statute void for vagueness and indefiniteness.

There is no question that the protection of consumers is within the allowable sphere of this State’s police powers permitting it to enact laws to effectuate that protection. In the face of appellant’s challenge to the constitutionality of this statute, this statute is vested with a presumption of validity and this Court is duty bound to construe such statutes in such a way as to uphold their constitutionality. See Herndon v. Lowry, 301 U.S. 242, 57 S.Ct. 732, 81 L.Ed. 1066 (1937); Mugler v. Kansas, 123 U.S. 623 at 661, 8 S.Ct. 273, 31 L.Ed. 205 (1887); U. S. v. Harriss, 347 U.S. 612, 74 S.Ct. 808, 98 L.Ed. 989 (1953); U. S. v. National Dairy Products, 372 U.S. 29, 83 S.Ct. 594, 9 L.Ed.2d 561 (1963); State v. Shoppers World, Inc., 380 S.W.2d 107 (Tex.1964); McKinney v. Blankenship, 154 Tex. 632, 282 S.W. 691, 697 (1955); 53 Tex.Jur.2d 225, Statutes, Section 158; Article 5429b-2, Section 3.01(1) (Code Construction Act).

The standard rule, which has become axiomatic, in considering allegations that a statute is void for vagueness and indefiniteness, is:

A statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must guess as to its meaning and differ as to its application lacks the first essential of due process of law.

See Ex parte Chernoski, 153 Tex.Cr.R. 52, 217 S.W.2d 673 at 674; Connally v. General Construction Company, 269 U.S. 385, 46 S.Ct. 126, 70 L.Ed. 322 (1925); Lanzetta v. New Jersey, 306 U.S. 451, 59 S.Ct. 618, 83 L.Ed. 888 (1938). As the citations in Ex parte Chernoski, supra, indicate, this rule has also been adopted and applied by this Court. However, as noted in Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156, 92 S.Ct. 839, 31 L.Ed.2d 110 (1972), greater leeway is allowed when a court considers allegations of vagueness and indefiniteness in “regulatory statutes governing business activities.” 405 U.S. at 162, 92 S.Ct. at 843. In that respect, the Court can consider both the face of the statute and the conduct to which it is applied. See U. S. v. National Dairy Products, supra. Furthermore, in the absence of special definitions, the language under attack can be “measured by common understanding and practices” or “construed in the sense generally understood.” See U. S. v. Pe trillo, 332 U.S. 1 at 8, 67 S.Ct. 1538 at 1542, 91 L.Ed. 1877 (1947); Ex parte Chernoski, supra, at 674; Article 5429b-2, Section 2.01, Y.A.C.S.

Finally, it is noted that the introduction and application of a culpable mental state is a material consideration in determining whether a statute is vague and indefinite and subject to arbitrary and erratic enforcement. See Screws v. U. S., 325 U.S. 91, 65 S.Ct. 1031, 89 L.Ed. 1495 (1945); Boyce Motor Lines Inc. v. U. S., supra; U. S. v. Harriss, supra.

[420]*420The statute as set forth above and as appellant was prosecuted under clearly requires that any “materially false or misleading statement” be made “intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence.” These culpable mental states are defined in V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 6.02(a)-(d). A reading of these definitions clearly indicates that the required culpable mental state must attach to the proscribed act at the time the conduct is engaged in.

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582 S.W.2d 416, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ely-v-state-texcrimapp-1979.