Hollins v. State

571 S.W.2d 873, 1978 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1357
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 11, 1978
Docket55433
StatusPublished
Cited by160 cases

This text of 571 S.W.2d 873 (Hollins 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
Hollins v. State, 571 S.W.2d 873, 1978 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1357 (Tex. 1978).

Opinion

OPINION

ONION, Presiding Judge.

This appeal is taken from a conviction for burglary of a building. After the jury found the enhancement paragraphs of the indictment alleging two prior felony convictions were true, the court assessed appellant’s punishment at life imprisonment. See V.T.C.A., Penal Code, § 12.42(d). On appeal we are confronted with a claim as to the invalidity of the enhancement portion of the indictment and a contention that jury note-taking was improperly permitted.

I.

Initially, appellant urges the trial court “erred in failing to grant defendant’s motion to quash the enhancement paragraphs of the indictment because the enhancement paragraphs were at a fatal variance with the proof.”

Appellant directs our attention to two oral motions to quash urged during the trial on the merits, but neither is based on the foregoing contention. Thus, the matter urged on appeal was never presented to the trial court. Nothing is presented for review.

Further, and more importantly, we observe that if the proof failed to support the enhancement allegations the punishment could not be legally enhanced, but this would not be grounds to quash that portion of the indictment. The office of a motion to quash an indictment is normally addressed to the sufficiency of the allegations therein, and not to whether there may be or is a variance between the allegata and the probata.

*875 II.

After reviewing and construing the argument submitted in support of the foregoing ground of error, we conclude that the stated ground of error is not the real thrust of appellant’s argument. In Article 40.09, § 9, V.A.C.C.P., it is stated in part:

“. . .If the defendant includes in his brief arguments supporting a particular ground of error, they shall be construed with it in determining what point of objection is sought to be presented by such ground of error; and if the court, upon consideration of such ground of error in the light of arguments made in support thereof in the brief, can identify and understand such point of objection, the same shall be reviewed notwithstanding any generality, vagueness or any other technical defect that may exist in the language employed to set forth such ground of error.”

The arguments advanced in appellant’s brief under this ground of error are confusing and somewhat multifarious, but the real thrust of appellant’s contention is that the allegations as to the prior convictions used for enhancement did not allege the particular courts in which said convictions occurred so as to enable him to take issue thereon, and to show, if possible, there was a mistake in identity or that there was no final formal conviction or the like. We do observe that the appellant did make an oral motion to quash the enhancement portion of the indictment on this basis late in the trial on the merits. We shall therefore consider, under the mandate of Article 40.-09, § 9, supra, appellant’s contention.

The enhancement paragraphs (so designated in indictment) alleged:

“Before the commission of the offenses alleged in Counts One and Two on July 23, 1951, in Cause Nos. 64148 and 64601, in Harris County, Texas, the Defendant was convicted of the felony offenses of Attempted Burglary and Theft, respectively.
“Before the commission of the offenses alleged in Counts One and Two, and after the convictions in Cause Nos. 64148 and 64601 were final, the Defendant committed the felony of Unlawfully Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle and was convicted on April 14,1959, in Cause No. 86566, in Harris County, Texas.”

Count No. 2 was waived and abandoned by the State, and the jury found the appellant guilty of burglary as charged in Count No. 1. At the beginning of the penalty stage of the trial, upon the motion to quash being made, the State asked to delete from the allegations of the prior convictions those concerning the attempted burglary conviction. Thereafter, the court submitted to the jury the question of whether the appellant had been previously convicted of theft and breaking and entering a motor vehicle.

It is well settled that it is not necessary to allege prior convictions for the purpose of the enhancement of punishment with the same particularity as must be used in charging the original offense. Broughton v. State, 148 Tex.Cr.R. 445, 188 S.W.2d 393 (1945); Farris v. State, 155 Tex.Cr. 261, 233 S.W.2d 856 (1950); Tucker v. State, 155 Tex.Cr.R. 304, 234 S.W.2d 877 (1950); Bailey v. State, 163 Tex.Cr.R. 459, 293 S.W.2d 649 (1956); Jones v. State, 164 Tex.Cr.R. 253, 298 S.W.2d 569 (1957); Warden v. State, 366 S.W.2d 786 (Tex.Cr.App.1963); Cooper v. State, 500 S.W.2d 837 (Tex.Cr. App.1973). See also 1 Branch’s Ann.P.C., 2nd ed., § 697, p. 679.

Nevertheless, it has been held that in alleging prior convictions for enhancement definiteness and certainty are required in the State’s pleadings. Papageorge v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 119, 246 S.W.2d 880 (1952). This is so because an accused is entitled to proper notice of any prior conviction alleged for enhancement of punishment. Rogers v. State, 168 Tex.Cr.R. 306, 325 S.W.2d 697 (1959). In Morman v. State, 127 Tex.Cr.R. 264, 75 S.W.2d 886 (1934), this court wrote:

“The accused is entitled to a description of the judgment of former conviction that will enable him to find the record and make preparation for a trial of the question whether he is the convict named therein.”

*876 In Childress v. State, 134 Tex.Cr.R. 504,116 S.W.2d 396 (1938), it was stated:

“. . . It is true that the appellant has the right to be advised by averments in the indictment as to the records of the former convictions, and also the right to be guarded against the hazard of the use by the state on a subsequent occasion of a conviction that has theretofore been used to enhance the penalty. Childress v. State, 131 Tex.Cr.R. 487, 100 S.W.2d 102

In Palmer v. State, 128 Tex.Cr.R. 293, 81 S.W.2d 76, 79 (1934), this court quoted from 12 Tex.Jur.2d 795 and stated:

“This averment is necessary in order to give the accused notice that a greater penalty is to be sought than for a first offense, and to enable him to take issue thereon, and if possible show there is a mistake in identity, or that there was no final former conviction or the like.”

It has been frequently held that in alleging a prior conviction for enhancement of punishment the allegations should include the court in which the conviction was obtained, the time of the conviction and the nature of the offense. Neece v. State, 62 Tex.Cr.R. 378, 137 S.W. 919 (1911); Morman v. State, supra; Palmer v. State, supra ; Childress v. State, 131 Tex.Cr.R. 487, 100 S.W.2d 102 (1936); Walker v.

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Bluebook (online)
571 S.W.2d 873, 1978 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1357, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hollins-v-state-texcrimapp-1978.