Howard v. State

178 S.W. 506, 77 Tex. Crim. 185, 1915 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 36
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas·Decided May 26, 1915·No. No. 3578.·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinions

HARPER, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of burglary and his punishment assessed at two years confinement in the State penitentiary.

There are two Criminal District Courts in Dallas County, Ho. 1, presided over by Judge Seay, and Ho. 2, presided over by Judge Crawford. It appears that the indictment in this case was returned into Criminal District Court Ho. 1, and by that court transferred to Criminal District Court Ho. 2, where it was tried. Several bills of exception were reserved to the authority of Criminal District Court Ho. 2 to try the cause. It is first claimed that the portion of the Act creating Criminal District Court Ho. 2, which gave authority for these two courts to transfer causes from one court- to the other, is void, it being contended the caption of the Act did not recite that it gave authority to transfer causes.

Section 2 of the Act reads:- "From and after the time this law shall take effect the Criminal District Court of Dallas County, and the Criminal District Court Ho. 2 of Dallas County shall have and exercise concurrent jurisdiction with each other in all felony causes and in all matters and proceedings of which the said Criminal District Court of Dallas County now has jurisdiction; and either of the judges of said Criminal District Court may in their discretion transfer any cause or causes that may at any time be pending in his court to the other Criminal District Court by an order or orders entered upon the minutes of his court; and where such transfer or transfers are made the clerk of such District Court shall enter such cause or causes upon the docket to which such transfer or transfers are made, and, when so entered upon the docket, the judge shall try and dispose of said causes in the same manner as if such causes were originally instituted in said court.”

This gives the two courts concurrent jurisdiction of all criminal offenses of the grade of felony, and specifically authorizes either court to transfer any cause to the other. The caption reads as applicable to this question: "An Act to create an additional Criminal District Court for the County of Dallas, and to prescribe the jurisdiction thereof; to limit and conform thereto jurisdiction of the (present) Criminal District Court of Dallas County, and to repeal all laws in conflict herewith.” Section 1 of article 5 provides that "The Legislature may establish such other courts (than those named) as it may deem necessary and prescribe the jurisdiction and organization thereof, and may conform the jurisdiction of the District Court and other inferior courts thereto.” If under this provision of the Constitution the Legislature had authority to create Criminal District Court Ho. 1, it would also have authority to create Criminal District Court Ho. 2, for its authority is general to establish such other courts as the Legislature may deem necessary, and if the Legislature deems this court necessary, then authority to create it can not be questioned. And when the caption of the Act provides for the creation of the court and also to "prescribe its jurisdiction,” *190 what other or additional words were necessary to give notice to the world that in the body of the Act will be found provisions which relate to and prescribe what cases may be acted on and tried by that court. Hr. Bouvier in his Law Dictionary defines “jurisdiction” to mean “the authority by which judicial officers take cognizance of and decide causes. The right to adjudicate concerning the subject matter in any given case.” Section 35 of article 3 only requires that no bill shall contain more than one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. This Act relates only to one subject, the creation of another Criminal District Court, and prescribing its jurisdiction—that .is what authority and power it shall possess. As said by our Supreme Court, “Only the general or ultimate object is required to be stated in the title, and not the details by which the object is to be attained. Any provision calculated to carry the declared object into effect is admissible.” Johnson v. Martin, 75 Texas, 33; Snyder v. Compton, 87 Texas, 374; Doepperschmidt v. Railway, 100 Texas, 532. And this question is discussed by this court in Ex parte Abrams, 56 Texas Crim. Rep., 465, and Joliff v. State, 53 Texas Crim. Rep., 61, and it was there held: “Suppose there be more than one subject mentioned in the Act. If they be germane or subsidiary to the main subject, or if relative directly or indirectly to the main subject, have a mutual connection and are not foreign to the main subject, the Act is not unconstitutional.” The creation of the second Criminal District Court in Dallas County was deemed necessary on account of the condition of the docket of Criminal District Court Ho. 1, the number of cases pending, etc., and the creation of a second court would have afforded but little if any relief, if authority to transfer causes to that court had not been contained in the bill. The Act itself recites that “the great accumulation of cases upon and the crowded dockets of the Criminal District Court of Dallas County, renders necessary immediate relief by the creation of a new Criminal District Court for said county,” and the object and purpose of the Act was to create another court to assist in trying causes then pending, as well as other cases as they might arise. We hold that under the provisions of the Act in question Criminal District Court Ho. 1 had authority to transfer this cause to District Court Ho. 3, and that court had authority to try said cause, and the court did not err in refusing the motion for retransfer the cause to Criminal District Court Ho. 1, and did not err in overruling the plea to the jurisdiction of Criminal District Court Ho. 3, and did not err in overruling the motion in arrest of judgment, on the grounds above stated. The Governor’s submission of the question to the Legislature was comprehensive enough to authorize that body to create the court and define its jurisdiction. “The Governor specifically authorized the Legislature to create an additional Criminal District Court for Dallas County,” which would necessarily carry with it the authority to define its jurisdiction.

The motion to quash the jury panel for the week was properly overruled. The recitals in the bill reserved to the action of the court in overruling the motion show that Judge Crawford, Mr. Barnes, deputy *191 clerk of the court, and Paul Adair, a deputy sheriff, were present when the list of jurors were drawn from the wheel. This was the main object intended to be accomplished by the jury wheél law—that the names of all the jurors should be placed in the wheel, and the list drawn from the wheel in the presence of the judge, the clerk or his deputy, and the sheriff or his deputy. This is shown to have been done, and as that was done, some slight irregularity subsequent to that time .would not vitiate the panel, unless it was shown or attempted to be shown that some injury might or could have been done appellant by the irregularity. This is not even suggested by the bill. The bill shows it was the jury drawn for that week of the court from the wheel as prescribed by law; that the blanks were not properly filled out or certified to would be an irregularity that would not vitiate the panel of jurymen drawn for that week of the court. Such provisions of the law have been held to be directory and not mandatory. Roberts v. State, 30 Texas Crim. App., 291; Jackson v. State, 30 Texas Crim. App., 664.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Howard v. State, 178 S.W. 506, 77 Tex. Crim. 185, 1915 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 36 (Tex. 1915).

178 S.W. 506 (Howard v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Kelly v. State
724 S.W.2d 42 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1987)
State v. Arnold
333 S.E.2d 34 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1985)
Kelly v. State
686 S.W.2d 742 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1985)
Maldonado v. State
473 S.W.2d 26 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1971)
Duran v. State
268 S.W.2d 167 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1954)
Romans v. State
220 S.W.2d 891 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1949)
Jones v. Anderson
189 S.W.2d 65 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1945)
Fuller v. State
180 S.W.2d 361 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1944)
Texas Liquor Control Board v. Warfield
111 S.W.2d 862 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1937)
Kent v. State
50 S.W.2d 817 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1932)
Deblanc v. State
37 S.W.2d 1024 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1931)
De Blanc v. State
37 S.W.2d 1024 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1931)
McKee v. State
34 S.W.2d 592 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1930)
Snow v. State
291 S.W. 558 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1927)
May v. State
103 So. 115 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1925)
Vanderhider v. State
265 S.W. 1041 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1924)
Fry v. Jackson
264 S.W. 612 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1924)
Torrence v. State
212 S.W. 957 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1919)
Ex Parte Davis
215 S.W. 341 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1919)