Green v. State

999 S.W.2d 474, 1999 WL 529565
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 30, 1999
Docket2-98-553-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 999 S.W.2d 474 (Green v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Green v. State, 999 S.W.2d 474, 1999 WL 529565 (Tex. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION

SAM J. DAY, Justice.

Appellant raises two points alleging that the trial court erred in denying the relief sought in his pretrial application for writ of habeas corpus. We dismiss for want of jurisdiction.

BackgrouNd

Appellant was charged with evading detention. He filed a pretrial application for writ of habeas corpus alleging that the provision under which he was charged, penal code section 38.04, is unconstitutionally vague. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 38.04 (Vernon 1994 & Vernon Supp.1999). On September 9, 1998, the trial court held a hearing and denied appellant relief. On November 2, 1998, appellant then entered into a plea-bargain agreement in which he pleaded nolo contendere in exchange for 45 days’ confinement.

Discussion

There are two ways a defendant can challenge, in the trial court, the facial constitutionality of a statute. Appellant may file a pretrial motion asking the trial court to declare the statute unconstitutional. See, e.g., Williams v. State, 937 S.W.2d 479, 491 (Tex.Crim.App.1996) (addressing on appeal the claim that the trial court erred in failing to grant the defendant’s pretrial motion to declare death penalty scheme unconstitutional). When a defendant files a pretrial motion, any ruling on the motion is interlocutory, and is not subject to immediate appeal. See Ex parte Apolinar v. State, 820 S.W.2d 792, 794 (Tex.Crim.App.1991); McKown v. State, 915 S.W.2d 160, 161 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1996, no pet.); see also Scott v. State, 158 Tex.Crim. 69, 253 S.W.2d 275, 276 (1952) (interlocutory orders not ap-pealable).

*476 The other procedure for challenging the constitutional validity of a penal code provision before trial is via a pretrial application for writ of habeas corpus. See, e.g., Ex parte Boetscher, 812 S.W.2d 600, 601 (Tex.Crim.App.1991); Ex parte Meyer, 172 Tex.Crim. 403, 357 S.W.2d 754, 756 (1962). In fact, the very nature of the claim that appellant makes here — that a statute is unconstitutionally void for vagueness — has been addressed on appeals from pretrial applications for writ of habeas corpus. See Ex parte Anderson, 902 S.W.2d 695, 698 (Tex. App.—Austin 1995, pet. ref'd); Ex parte Luster, 846 S.W.2d 928, 930 (TexApp.—Fort Worth 1993, pet. ref'd); Ex parte Guerrero, 811 S.W.2d 726, 727 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1991, no pet.). When a trial court denies relief from a pretrial habeas corpus application, the applicant may take immediate appeal. See Ex parte McCullough, 966 S.W.2d 529, 531 (Tex. Crim.App.1998); Waldie v. State, 923 S.W.2d 152, 157 (Tex.App.—Beaumont 1996, no pet.).

In this case, appellant chose to challenge the validity of section 38.04 by filing a pretrial application for writ of habeas corpus, instead of a pretrial motion to declare section 38.04 unconstitutional. The trial court, after a hearing, denied the requested relief. Therefore, the trial court’s denial was immediately appealable. See McCullough, 966 S.W.2d at 531; Waldie, 923 S.W.2d at 157.

Under the rules of appellate procedure, appeal must be perfected within 30 days of the date the appealable order is entered. See Tex.R.App. P. 26.2(a)(1). 1 There was no motion for new trial, thus appellant’s notice of appeal from the order denying him habeas relief was due on or before October 9,1998. Appellant filed his notice of appeal on November 4, 1998. Therefore, appellant’s notice of appeal is untimely and does not invoke this court’s appellate jurisdiction regarding the trial court’s order on the pretrial application for writ of habeas corpus. See Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex.Crim.App.1996).

Appellant’s notice of appeal, however, is timely regarding the final judgment entered on November 2, 1998. But, because appellant entered into a plea bargain, he must meet the special notice requirements of rule 25.2(b)(3). Tex.R.App. P. 25.2(b)(3). Appellant does not appeal a jurisdictional issue, nor has the trial court granted him permission to appeal. See id. 25.2(b)(3)(A), (C). Thus, in order to appeal his conviction, appellant’s notice must truthfully state that the substance of his appeal was raised by written motion and ruled on before trial. Appellant’s notice does not, and in fact can not, meet this requirement.

We recognize that appellant’s notice of appeal states that the substance of the appeal was raised by written motion and ruled on before trial. For this to be true, however, the pretrial habeas corpus application must be a “written motion” as contemplated in rule 25.2(b)(3). Our review of applicable law reveals that it is not.

A pretrial motion is to be filed at a pretrial hearing conducted pursuant to article 28.01 of the code of criminal procedure. Tex.Code Cpjm. PRoc. Ann. art. 28.01 (Vernon 1989). At such a hearing, the defendant may file any motions or pleadings that are by law permitted to be filed, including a motion to declare a statute unconstitutional. See id. art. 27.02; see, e.g., Williams, 937 S.W.2d at 491. The purpose of the pretrial hearing is to enable the judge to dispose of certain matters prior to trial and thus avoid delays during the trial. See Johnson v. State, 803 S.W.2d 272, 284 (Tex.Crim.App.1990), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1259, 111 S.Ct. 2914, 115 L.Ed.2d 1078 (1991). Rulings on pretrial motions are interlocutory and not subject to immediate appeal. See Scott, 253 S.W.2d at 275.

*477 A habeas corpus action is separate from the proceeding out of which it arises and its purpose is vastly different. Habe-as corpus is by definition an extraordinary writ in which the restraint of one’s liberty is challenged as illegal. See Tex.Code CRIM. Proc. ANN. art. 11.01 (Vernon 1977); Saucedo v. State, 795 S.W.2d 8, 9 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1990, no pet.). As one of our sister courts has noted:

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999 S.W.2d 474, 1999 WL 529565, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-state-texapp-1999.