Hirsch v. State

282 S.W.3d 196, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2080, 2009 WL 736799
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 19, 2009
Docket2-08-121-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 282 S.W.3d 196 (Hirsch 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
Hirsch v. State, 282 S.W.3d 196, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2080, 2009 WL 736799 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

TERRIE LIVINGSTON, Justice.

Introduction

Appellant Charles Hirsch appeals the trial court’s judgment convicting him of online solicitation of a minor. In three points, he asserts that the portion of the judgment requiring him to register as a sex offender violates his federal and state constitutional rights and that the trial court acted without statutory authority in including such a requirement. We affirm.

Background Facts

In August 2007, a Denton County grand jury indicted appellant with two counts of online solicitation of a minor. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 33.021 (Vernon Supp. 2008). The indictment alleged that appellant committed the offenses on June 14 and 17, 2007.

On January 23, 2008, appellant filed an objection to the trial court’s prospective imposition of any sex offender registration requirement upon his conviction for the two charges. After the trial court denied his objection, appellant pled guilty to the charges according to a plea bargain with the State. The trial court convicted appellant, sentenced him to 180 days’ confinement, and ordered that he register as a sex offender. Appellant preserved his right to appeal the court’s ruling on his *198 objection to the registration requirement. See Tex.R.App. P. 25.2(a)(2)(A). After filing a motion for new trial, appellant timely filed his notice of this appeal. 1

Legislative History

The parties agree that the principal issue in this case is whether two bills passed in the same legislative session, each relating to sex offender registration requirements, are reconcilable. Thus, we will give a brief history of these bills.

In the 2005 regular session, legislators passed House Bill 2228, creating the online solicitation of a minor offense and requiring anyone convicted of that offense to register as a sex offender. See Act of May 25, 2005, 79th Leg., R.S., ch. 1278, § 2, 2005 Tex. Gen. Laws 4049, 4050-51 (amended 2005) (current versions at Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 88.021 and Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 62.001(5) (Vernon Supp.2008)); see also Senate Research Ctr., Bill Analysis, Tex. H.B. 2228, 79th Leg., R.S. (2005) (explaining that the bill amended the penal code to “allow for the filing of charges against individuals who engage in conversations over the Internet with the intent of meeting a minor .for sexual activity” and that it also redefined “reportable conviction or adjudication” in the sex offender registration statute). To apply the sex offender registration requirement to a conviction for online solicitation of a minor, House Bill 2228 added a new subsection to the then-existing registration statute; however, the bill included a recitation of the entire relevant registration section:

SECTION 2. Article 62.01(5), Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(5) “Reportable conviction or adjudication” means a conviction or adjudication, regardless of the pendency of an appeal, that is:
(A) a conviction for a violation of Section 21.11 (Indecency with a child), 22.011 (Sexual assault), 22.021 (Aggravated sexual assault), or 25.02 (Prohibited sexual conduct), Penal Code;
(B) a conviction for a violation of Section 43.05 (Compelling prostitution), 43.25 (Sexual performance by a child), or 43.26 (Possession or promotion of child pornography), Penal Code;
(C) a conviction for a violation of Section 20.04(a)(4) (Aggravated kidnapping), Penal Code, if the defendant committed the offense with intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually;
(D) a conviction for a violation of Section 30.02 (Burglary), Penal Code, if the offense is punishable under Subsection (d) of that section and the defendant committed the offense with intent to commit a felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (C);
(E) a conviction for a violation of Section 20.02 (Unlawful restraint), 20.03 (Kidnapping), or 20.04 (Aggravated kidnapping), Penal Code, if the judgment in the case contains an affirmative finding under Article 42.015;
(F) the second conviction for a violation of Section 21.08 (Indecent exposure), Penal Code;
(G) a conviction for an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation, as defined by Chapter 15, Penal Code, to commit an offense listed in Paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E);
(H) an adjudication of delinquent conduct:
*199 (i) based on a violation of one of the offenses listed in Paragraph (A),
(B), (C), (D), [or] (G), or (N) or, if the order in the hearing contains an affirmative finding that the victim or intended victim was younger than 17 years of age, one of the offenses listed in Paragraph (E); or
(ii) for which two violations of the offense listed in Paragraph (F) are shown;
(I) a deferred adjudication for an offense listed in:
(i) Paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D), [or] (G), or (N); or
(ii) Paragraph (E) if the papers in the case contain an affirmative finding that the victim or intended victim was younger than 17 years of age;
(J) a conviction under the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense listed under Paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), [or] (G), or (NI-
CK) an adjudication of delinquent conduct under the laws of another state, federal law, or the laws of a foreign country based on a violation of an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense listed under Paragraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), [or] (G), or (N);
(L) the second conviction under the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of the offense of indecent exposure; [or]
(M) the second adjudication of delinquent conduct under the laws of another state, federal law, or the laws of a foreign country based on a violation of an offense containing elements that are substantially similar to the elements of the offense of indecent exposure; or
(N)a conviction for a violation of Section 33.021 (Online solicitation of a minor), Penal Code.

Act of May 25, 2005, 79th Leg., R.S., ch. 1278, § 2, 2005 Tex. Gen. Laws 4049, 4050-51 (amended 2005).

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Bluebook (online)
282 S.W.3d 196, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 2080, 2009 WL 736799, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hirsch-v-state-texapp-2009.