Ex Parte Jose Antonio-Santiago v. .

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals San Antonio, Texas MEMORANDUM OPINION

No. 04-22-00628-CR

EX PARTE Jose ANTONIO-SANTIAGO

From the County Court at Law No. 1, Webb County, Texas Trial Court No. 2022CRB000720L1 Honorable Leticia Martinez, Judge Presiding 1

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

Opinion by: Beth Watkins, Justice

Sitting: Rebeca C. Martinez, Chief Justice Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice Beth Watkins, Justice

Delivered and Filed: December 27, 2023

REVERSED AND REMANDED

As part of Operation Lone Star, Jose Antonio-Santiago, a noncitizen, was arrested for

trespassing on private property in Webb County. He filed an application for writ of habeas corpus

seeking dismissal of the criminal charge based on a violation of his state and federal rights to equal

protection. Specifically, Antonio-Santiago argued the State of Texas was engaging in selective

prosecution in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the Texas

Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment because only men were being charged with misdemeanor

1 The Honorable Hugo D. Martinez is the judge of the Webb County Court at Law Number One. Associate Judge Leticia Martinez signed the order denying the habeas corpus relief at issue in this appeal. 04-22-00628-CR

criminal trespass. See U.S. CONST. amend. XIV; TEX. CONST. art. I, § 3(a). The trial court denied

Antonio-Santiago’s requested relief, and he appealed.

On August 30, 2023, this court issued an opinion and judgment reversing the trial court’s

order and remanding this case to the trial court for further proceedings. The State filed a motion

for rehearing. While the motion was pending, this court decided Ex parte Vazquez-Bautista, No.

04-22-00630-CR, 2023 WL 8440339, at *1 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Dec. 6, 2023, no pet. h.) (en

banc). This appeal involves the same arguments and same evidentiary record as Vazquez-Bautista.

For the reasons explained in that opinion, we deny the State’s motion for rehearing, sua sponte

withdraw our August 30, 2023 opinion and judgment, and substitute this opinion and judgment in

its place. We reverse the trial court’s order and remand the cause to the trial court with instructions

to discharge Antonio-Santiago from bail and dismiss the information in the underlying proceeding

with prejudice. See id.

Beth Watkins, Justice

DO NOT PUBLISH

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