Meras, Charles Joseph

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
• Decided: January 11, 2023
• Docket: PD-0120-20
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS

NO. PD-0120-20

THE STATE OF TEXAS

V.

CHARLES JOSEPH MERAS, Appellee

ON APPELLEE’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW FROM THE TENTH COURT OF APPEALS McLENNAN COUNTY

Per curiam.

OPINION

Appellee was charged with possession of a controlled substance. He filed a pre-trial

motion to suppress evidence arising from his detention and subsequent arrest, on the basis that

the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to detain him for a violation of section 545.060(a) of

the Transportation Code for failing to drive as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane. Meras - 2

See T EX. T RANSP. C ODE § 545.060(a). The trial court granted the motion.

The State appealed. The Court of Appeals held that it is an independent offense to fail to

stay entirely within a marked lane of traffic when it is practical to do so, regardless of whether the

deviation is safe under the circumstances. Meras v. State, 629 S.W.3d 284 (Tex. App. – Waco

2020, pet. filed). The court reversed the trial court's ruling and remanded the case to the trial court

for further proceedings.

Appellee filed a petition for discretionary review arguing that the Court of Appeals

erred in holding that Section 546.060(a) sets out two separate offenses. We recently decided

that subsection (a) creates only one offense and that it is not a traffic violation to fail to

maintain a single marked lane of traffic if such failure does not occur in an unsafe manner.

State v. Hardin, No. PD-0799-19, 2022 WL 16635303 (Tex. Crim. App. Nov. 2, 2022).

The Court of Appeals in the instant case did not have the benefit of our decision in

State v. Hardin. Accordingly, we grant Appellee’s petition for discretionary review, vacate

the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand this case to the Court of Appeals for

reconsideration in light of State v. Hardin, and to address any remaining issues necessary to

the resolution of the appeal.

DELIVERED January 11, 2023

PUBLISH