State v. Salinas

982 S.W.2d 9
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 14, 1998·No. 01-95-00880-CR to 01-95-00882-CR·Published·Cited by 37 cases

Opinions

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

ANDELL, Justice.

This Court granted the State’s motion for rehearing and heard oral argument. We withdraw our previous opinion and substitute this opinion in its place.

The State complains the court erred in quashing three indictments against appellee. We affirm.

Appellee, an elected Harris County District Judge, was indicted by a grand jury for six offenses in connection with his original and amended reports of contributions and expenditures, including three counts of misdemeanor perjury. The perjury indictments charged appellee with (1) falsely claiming he did not receive a series of blank checks from his bank, when in truth he did receive them and used them to spend more than $2000, (2) falsely swearing his contributions and expenditures report was true and correct, and (3) falsely claiming he bought flowers for his staff, when in truth the flowers were delivered to his wife.

While the causes were pending before the trial court, the Court of Criminal Appeals refused both parties’ petitions for discretionary review in State v. Eversole, 889 S.W.2d 418 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994), pet. ref'd, 899 S.W.2d 204 (Tex.Crim.App.1995), which holds the Election Code, not the Penal Code, governs punishment for public officials who violate the contributions and expenditures report requirements. Citing Eversole, the trial court ordered the three perjury indictments quashed and dismissed.

In point of error one, the State argues the trial court erred in dismissing the indictments because it could have prosecuted ap-pellee either under the Penal Code or the Election Code, at its option. The State also argues its references in the indictments to the Election Code were surplusage, and it could reindict appellee for perjury by eliminating any such reference. We disagree.

Whether one statute precludes another is a matter of statutory construction, and statutory construction is a question of law. We review questions of law de novo,1 [11] without deference to the trial court’s conclusions. See State v. Heal, 917 S.W.2d 6, 9 (Tex.1996).

Perjury, a Class A misdemeanor, occurs when:

(1) a person;
(2) makes a false statement;
(3) under oath;
(4) with intent to deceive; and
(5) with knowledge of the statement’s meaning.

Tex. Penal Code Ann. _ 37.02 (Vernon 1994).

Violation of Election Code section 254.041, Criminal Penalty for Untimely or Incomplete Report, is a Class C misdemeanor and occurs when:

(1) a candidate or officeholder;
(2) knowingly fails to include required information;
(3) in a report of contributions and expenditures.

Tex. Elec.Code Ann. _ 254.041 (Vernon Supp. 1998). Additionally, the Election Code requires that all reports bear an affidavit swearing that the report is true and correct and includes all information required to be reported. Tex. Elec.Code Ann. _ 254.036 (Vernon Supp.1998)

Several elements of perjury and a section 254.041 violation are the same. Perjury punishes false statements, and section 254.041 punishes knowing failure to include required information, which necessarily makes false the accompanying sworn statement that the report is true, correct, or complete. Perjury requires intent to deceive, while section 254.041 requires knowing failure to include all required information in spite of an oath to the contrary: Though not stated in the same words, both statutes clearly require intent to deceive. Additionally, perjury requires knowledge of the statement’s meaning, an element that is the very basis of the Election Code’s affidavit requirement. Finally, both statutes require that the prohibited conduct take place under oath.

Up to this point, the statutes prohibit the same conduct; the remaining two elements differ only because section 254.041 is more narrowly tailored. Perjury applies to any person, whereas section 254.041 punishes a particular class of persons—candidates and public officials. Likewise, perjury relates to any sworn statement, but section 254.041 is limited to contributions and expenditure reports.

Where one statute has broadly defined an offense, and a second makes a more narrow definition, complete within itself, the narrow statute prohibits conduct that would otherwise meet every element of, and hence be punishable under, the broader provision. Mills v. State, 722 S.W.2d 411, 414 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986). Where, as here, the narrow provision provides for a lesser range of punishment than the general, an irreconcilable conflict exists, and due process and due course of law dictate that an accused be prosecuted under the special provision, in keeping with the presumed legislative intent. Id. Where the conflict between the general provision and the special provision is irreconcilable, the special provision prevails as an exception to the general provision, unless the general provision is the later enactment and the manifest intent is that the general provision prevail. Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. _ 311.026 (Vernon 1988). The perjury statute was enacted in 1973; section 254.041 was not enacted until 1987.

Finally, the Election Code provides: “This code supersedes a conflicting statute outside this code unless this code or the outside statute expressly provides otherwise.” Tex. Elec.Code Ann. _ 1.002(b) (Vernon 1986). Because neither the Election Code nor the perjury statute expressly provides otherwise, [12] the Election Code supersedes the perjury statute.

We overrule point of error one.

In point of error two, the State contends the trial court erred in dismissing the indictments because the ruling constituted a premature determination of the sufficiency of the evidence. We disagree. The appellant did not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence in his motion, and the court did not address evidentiary sufficiency. The court dismissed the indictments because they did not state a lawful charge.

We overrule point of error two.

Finally, the State argues that the legislature decisively repudiated the decision in Ev-ersole by promulgating a new statute, Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. _ 571.077 (Vernon Supp. 1998). The statute reads:

§ 571.077 Statements, registrations, and reports considered to be verified
(a) A statement, registration, or report that is filed with the commission is considered to.be under oath by the person required to file the statement, registration, or report regardless of the absence of or defect in the affidavit of verification, including a signature.
(b) A person required to file a statement, registration, or report with the commission is subject to prosecution under Chapter 37, Penal Code, regardless of the absence of or defect in the affidavit of verification.

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State v. Salinas, 982 S.W.2d 9 (Tex. Ct. App. 1998).

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