Tune v. Texas Department of Public Safety

23 S.W.3d 358, 2000 WL 890200
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 24, 2000
Docket98-0679
StatusPublished
Cited by142 cases

This text of 23 S.W.3d 358 (Tune v. Texas Department of Public Safety) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tune v. Texas Department of Public Safety, 23 S.W.3d 358, 2000 WL 890200 (Tex. 2000).

Opinions

Justice ENOCH

delivered the opinion of the Court,

in which Chief Justice PHILLIPS, Justice HECHT, Justice OWEN, and Justice GONZALES join.

This case presents us with two principal issues. First, we must determine whether the courts of appeals have jurisdiction over appeals involving the grant' or denial of a concealed-handgun license. We conclude that they do, because the amount in controversy in a license-denial case exceeds the statutory jurisdictional requirement of $100.

Second, we must consider the meaning of the term “convicted” as it is used in the Concealed Handgun Act, Subchapter H of the Texas Government Code.1 We conclude that petitioner, who entered a felony guilty plea and completed a probation period, and as a result had his conviction set aside and the indictment dismissed, remains “convicted” for purposes of the Handgun Act. We therefore affirm the court of appeals’ judgment that petitioner is not eligible for a concealed-handgun license.

I. Background

In 1972, Warren Lee Tune pled guilty to a felony charge and was sentenced to two years’ probation. After Tune completed a year and five months of his probation, the district court issued an order setting aside his conviction, dismissing the indictment, and discharging him from probation.

In 1996, Tune applied for a license to carry a concealed handgun under the Handgun Act. Generally, a person applying for such a license must pay the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) a nonrefundable $140 license and application fee for a four-year license.2 But to avoid renewal congestion at the end of the first four years, DPS initially promulgated a rule that required some applicants to pay a prorated nonrefundable $70 fee for a two-year license.3 Tune applied for a license the first year that licenses were available. He was required, at random, to apply for a two-year license and pay a $70 fee.

DPS denied Tune’s application because he had been convicted of a felony. Thereafter, as the Act permits, Tune requested a hearing before a justice of the peace.4 Both DPS and the applicant may present evidence at such a hearing, and the justice of the peace determines whether the denial is supported by a preponderance of the evidence.5 In this case, the justice court reversed DPS’s denial of Tune’s application and ordered DPS to issue a license to Tune.

DPS appealed the justice court’s decision to the county court at law. The Act specifically authorizes such an appeal, and [361]*361also states that “[t]he trial on appeal shall be a trial de novo 'without a jury.”6 After trial, the county court also ruled in Tune’s favor, and instructed DPS to issue him a license. DPS thereafter appealed to the court of appeals.

The court of appeals reversed the county court’s decision and held that Tune was not eligible for a concealed-handgun license.7 That court held that it had jurisdiction over the appeal because “there are no restrictions or regulations on the D.P.S.’s appeal from the county court at law....”8 Thereafter, Tune petitioned for our review. He challenges both the court of appeals’ conclusion on jurisdiction and its ruling on the merits that he is not entitled to a concealed-handgun license.

II. Jurisdiction in the Court of Appeals

We first consider Tune’s jurisdictional challenge. This Court has jurisdiction to consider whether the court of appeals properly exercised jurisdiction over an appeal.9 Article V, section 6 of the Texas Constitution establishes that the courts of appeals have general jurisdiction over all cases “of which the District Courts or County Courts have original or appellate jurisdiction, under such restrictions and regulations as may be prescribed by law.”10 In addition, the Texas Constitution vests courts of appeals with “such other jurisdiction, original and appellate, as may be prescribed by law.”11 Thus, the court of appeals’ jurisdiction over this case must be based on either (1) the general constitutional grant, subject to any restrictions or regulations imposed by the Legislature; or (2) a specific statutory grant of jurisdiction.

We look first to the Handgun Act itself, to see whether it contains a specific grant of jurisdiction to the courts of appeals. It doesn’t. Although the Act expressly authorizes appeals to the county courts at law, it says nothing about subsequent appeals.12

Consequently, we consider whether the court of appeals had jurisdiction under the general constitutional grant. Because the county court’s jurisdiction here was appellate, the constitution vests jurisdiction in the court of appeals, subject to any restrictions and regulations prescribed by law. In two statutes, the Legislature has limited the jurisdiction of the courts of appeals to causes in which the amount in controversy or the judgment exceeds $100.13 These statutes provide a “restriction or regulation” on the courts of appeals’ general jurisdiction. Thus, the court of appeals erred when it concluded that there were no such restrictions or regulations on DPS’s ability to bring its appeal.14

But that conclusion does not end our inquiry. If the amount in controversy here exceeds the jurisdictional minimum of $100, the court of appeals correctly exercised its jurisdiction, albeit for the wrong reason. It has long been the law that the phrase “amount in controversy,” in the jurisdictional context, means “the sum of money or the value of the thing originally sued for.... ”15 While the amount in controversy is frequently determined by the [362]*362damages sought, that is not always so.16 The subjective value of a privilege, if asserted in good faith, establishes jurisdiction if that value meets the requisite amount in controversy.17 Certainly, the amount of money that a state’s citizens are willing to pay for a privilege is some evidence of its value. Based on these principles, we hold that the $140 licensing fee establishes the minimum value of a concealed-handgun license. Therefore, the court of appeals correctly concluded that it had jurisdiction over DPS’s appeal in this case.

Because the fee for a concealed-handgun license exceeds the $100 jurisdictional amount, there is no need to evaluate whether the license has any additional value particular to Tune. While the licensing fee may not capture the license’s entire worth, it establishes a minimum value, which in this case passes the jurisdictional threshold.

It is true that Tune himself paid $70 for a two-year license, rather than $140 for a four-year license. We also note that the Act permits certain classes of applicants to pay a reduced fee.18 Some might therefore argue that, when an applicant like Tune pays a reduced fee, the value of the license isn’t enough to satisfy the jurisdictional requirement. We hold, however, that the general application fee of $140 satisfies the amount in controversy requirement in every case, regardless of whether the particular applicant paid that fee or a reduced fee.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
23 S.W.3d 358, 2000 WL 890200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tune-v-texas-department-of-public-safety-tex-2000.