LOPEZ, EX PARTE LUIS GUSTAVO GARCIA v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
• Decided: December 11, 2024
• Docket: PD-0515-24
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS

NO. PD-0515-24

EX PARTE LUIS GUSTAVO GARCIA LOPEZ, Appellant

ON APPELLANT’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW FROM THE DALLAS COURT OF APPEALS KINNEY COUNTY

Per curiam. YEARY, J., dissented.

OPINION

Appellant was arrested for trespassing on private property. See TEX. PENAL CODE §

30.05(a). He filed a pretrial application for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the State

was selectively prosecuting him in violation of his equal protection rights. The trial court

denied relief, Appellant appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling

denying relief.1

1 Ex parte Lopez, No. 05-24-00082-CR (Tex. App.—Dallas March 27, 2024). Appellant has filed a petition for discretionary review, arguing that the court of

appeals applied the wrong standard when reviewing his equal protection claim. We

recently handed down our opinion in Ex parte Aparicio, No. PD-0461-23, ___ S.W.3d

___ (Tex. Crim. App. October 9, 2024), in which we held that Aparicio’s selective

prosecution claim was cognizable in a pretrial habeas application. We also held that

Aparicio did not make a prima facie showing that he was arrested and prosecuted because

of his gender.

Consistent with our opinion in Aparicio, we grant review on our own motion of the

following ground:

Did Appellant make a prima facie showing that he was arrested and prosecuted because of his gender?

Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the case to that

court in light of our opinion in Aparicio. Appellant’s petition is refused. No motion for

rehearing will be entertained, and the Clerk is instructed to immediately issue mandate.

DATE DELIVERED: DECEMBER 11, 2024 DO NOT PUBLISH