State v. Kingsbury

129 S.W.3d 202, 2004 WL 308153
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 15, 2004
Docket13-02-475-CR, 13-02-476-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 129 S.W.3d 202 (State v. Kingsbury) 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
State v. Kingsbury, 129 S.W.3d 202, 2004 WL 308153 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice RODRIGUEZ.

This is a cruelty to animals case. Pursuant to section 42.09 of the Texas Penal Code, appellant, the State of Texas, filed a criminal action against appellees, Patrick Scott Kingsbury and Inocente Morales Dominguez. See Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 42.09 (Vernon 2003). The State alleged appellees tortured four dogs by leaving them without food and water, which led to their deaths. The trial court found it lacked jurisdiction because the indictment alleged only a misdemeanor. See Tex. Code Chim. PROC. Ann. art. 4.05 (Vernon 1977).2 By one issue, the State contends the district court committed reversible error in granting appellees’ motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Kingsbury purchased a number of dogs for the purpose of breeding and selling. He hired Dominguez to care for the dogs. Some time later, after an anonymous tip, Cameron County Animal Control workers located approximately seventy-six of the dogs purchased by Kingsbury; all were emaciated and dehydrated. The workers also found the remains of several other dogs that had died of starvation. Both Kingsbury and Dominguez were arrested and indicted for cruelty to animals. Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 42.09 (Vernon 2003). The indictment alleged that appellees intentionally or knowingly tortured four dogs by “leaving them without food and water to such an extent as to cause the death of said dogs.” Appellees filed a motion to quash the indictment and a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The basis of appellees’ motions was that the indictment alleged felony torture but used, as the defining element, language from the misdemeanor offense of failing to provide necessary food, care, or shelter. The district court agreed and held that since the language in the indictment closely tracked the language of the misdemean- or offense, the indictment alleged a misdemeanor under the guise of a felony. Thus, the district court concluded it lacked jurisdiction.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This is an issue of first impression in Texas that presents a question of statutory interpretation. Matters of statutory construction are questions of law for the courts to decide. Johnson v. City of Fort Worth, 774 S.W.2d 653, 656 (Tex.1989). As such, they are subject to de novo review. State Dept, of Hwys. & Pub. Transp. v. Payne, 838 S.W.2d 235, 238-39 (Tex.1992). “In construing a statute, our primary objective is to determine and give effect to the Legislature’s intent.” Natl Liab. & Fire Ins. Co. v. Allen, 15 S.W.3d 525, 527 (Tex.2000). Our starting point is to look to the plain and common meaning of the statute’s words, viewing its terms in [205]*205context and giving them full effect. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. v. Garrison Contractors, Inc., 966 S.W.2d 482, 484 (Tex.1998). If the language is unambiguous, we will interpret the statute according to its plain meaning. State ex rel. State Dep’t of Hwys. & Pub. Transp. v. Gonzalez, 82 S.W.3d 322, 327 (Tex.2002). We are mindful that “every word in a statute is presumed to have been used for a purpose; and a cardinal rule of statutory construction is that each sentence, clause and word is to be given effect if reasonable and possible.” Perkins v. State, 367 S.W.2d 140, 146 (Tex.1963). The statute should be considered in its entirety when determining the meaning of its component parts. See Bridge-stone/Firestone, Inc. v. Glyn-Jones, 878 S.W.2d 132, 133 (Tex.1994). We should also presume the Legislature intended a “result feasible of execution” when it enacted the statute. In re Mo. Pac. R.R. Co., 998 S.W.2d 212, 216 (Tex.1999). Other matters that may be considered in ascertaining the Legislature’s intent include the objective of the law and the consequences of a particular construction. See Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 311.023 (Vernon 1998); McIntyre v. Ramirez, 109 S.W.3d 741, 745 (Tex.2003). With these principles in mind, we turn to the statutory language to be construed.

III. ANALYSIS

The language at issue from section 42.09 of the Texas Penal Code, Cruelty to Animals, reads in relevant part:

(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly:
(1) tortures an animal;
(2) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, care, or shelter for an animal in the person’s custody;
(3) abandons unreasonably an animal in the person’s custody;
(4) transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;
(5) kills, seriously injures, or administers poison to an animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another without legal authority or the owner’s effective consent;
(6) causes one animal to fight with another;
(7) uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training or in dog coursing on a racetrack;
(8) trips a horse;
(9) injures an animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another without legal authority or the owner’s effective consent; or
(10) seriously overworks an animal.
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(d) An offense under Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), (9), or (10) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two times under this section.
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(g) An offense under Subsection (a)(1), (5), (6), (7), or (8) is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the person has previously been convicted two times under this section....

Tex. Pen.Code Ann. § 42.09 (Vernon 2003).

The State contends the term “torture” includes a failure to provide necessary food and water and, therefore, the indictment properly alleges a felony under subsection (a)(1). In support of its argument, the State relies on Martinez v. State, 498 S.W.2d 938 (Tex.Crim.App.1973); Johnson v. State, 465 S.W.2d 372 (Tex.Crim.App.1971); and State v. Woodward, 68 W.Va. 66, 69 S.E. 385 (1910), cases addressing [206]*206torture of humans.

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Bluebook (online)
129 S.W.3d 202, 2004 WL 308153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kingsbury-texapp-2004.