## I N T H E C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S

O F T E X A S

N O S

. P D

- 1 5 8 4

- 1 1 & 1 5 8 5

- 1 1

M A U R I C I O C E L I S

, A p p e l l a n t

v

.

T H E S T A T E O F T E X A S

O N A P P E L L A N T ’ S P E T I T I O N F O R D I S C R E T I O N A R Y R E V I E W

F R O M T H E T H I R T E E N T H C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

N U E C E S C O U N T Y

A L C A L A

, J

. , a n n o u n c e d t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e C o u r t a n d d e l i v e r e d a n o p i n i o n i n

w h i c h K E L L E R

, P

. J

. , P R IC E a n d K E A S L E R

, J J

. , j o i n e d

. K E L L E R

, P J

. , f i l e d a c o n c u r r i n g

o p i n i o n i n w h i c h P R IC E a n d K E A S L E R

, J J

. , j o i n e d

. C O C H R A N

, J

. , f i l e d a c o n c u r r i n g

o p i n i o n i n w h i c h W O M A C K a n d J O H N S O N

, J J

. , j o i n e d

. M E Y E R S a n d H E R V E Y

, J J

. , d i d

n o t p a r t i c i p a t e

.

O P I N I O N

I n d e c i d i n g t h e p e t i t i o n f o r d i s c r e t i o n a r y r e v i e w f i l e d b y M a u r i c i o C e l i s

, a p p e l l a n t

,

w e a d d r e s s t h r e e j u r y

- c h a r g e c o m p l a i n t s

. F i r s t

, w e d e t e r m i n e t h a t t h e o f f e n s e o f f a l s e l y

h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r

, a s i t a p p l i e s h e r e

, d o e s n o t r e q u i r e a n i n s t r u c t i o n a s t o a

c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e b e y o n d t h e i n t e n t e x p r e s s l y p r e s c r i b e d b y t h e p l a i n l a n g u a g e i n t h a tCelis - 2

s t a t u t e

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. S e c o n d

, w e c o n c l u d e t h a t a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d

t o a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n a m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t d e f e n s e b e c a u s e h i s r e q u e s t e d i n s t r u c t i o n d i d n o t n e g a t e

t h e c u l p a b i l i t y r e q u i r e d f o r t h e o f f e n s e

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 8

. 0 2 ( a )

. T h i r d

, w e h o l d t h a t

t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s p r o p e r l y d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s i n s t r u c t i o n o n t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f

“ f o r e i g n l e g a l c o n s u l t a n t ” w a s n o t a n i m p r o p e r c o m m e n t o n t h e w e i g h t o f t h e e v i d e n c e

. S e e

T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 6

. 1 4

. W e a f f i r m

.

I

. B a c k g r o u n d

I t i s u n d i s p u t e d t h a t

, a l t h o u g h a p p e l l a n t w a s n e v e r l i c e n s e d t o p r a c t i c e l a w i n T e x a s

o r a n y o t h e r j u r i s d i c t i o n

, h e c o n t i n u o u s l y h e l d h i m s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r i n T e x a s o v e r a p e r i o d

o f s e v e r a l y e a r s i n a l u c r a t i v e b u s i n e s s

. A p p e l l a n t a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t h e d i d n o t h a v e a 1

“ c e d u l a

, ” o r M e x i c a n l a w l i c e n s e

, n o r a c e r t i f i c a t e f r o m M e x i c o ’ s M i n i s t r y o f E d u c a t i o n

,

w h i c h d o c u m e n t s t h a t a p e r s o n c u r r e n t l y m e e t s t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s t o p r a c t i c e l a w i n M e x i c o

.

R a t h e r

, h e t e s t i f

i e d t h a t h e h a s a d i p l o m a i n j u d i c i a l s c i e n c e s a n d t h a t h e

, t h e r e f o r e

, b e l i e v e d

t h a t h e w a s “ c o n s i d e r e d a l a w y e r i n M e x i c o

. ” H e c a l l e d t w o w i t n e s s e s w h o t e s t i f i e d t h a t

e v e r y M e x i c a n c i t i z e n w h o w a s o f l e g a l a g e a n d s o u n d m i n d i s a “ l i c e n c i a d o

, ” m e a n i n g a

p e r s o n a u t h o r i z e d t o p r a c t i c e c e r t a i n t y p e s o f l a w i n M e x i c o

.

A p p e l l a n t w a s c h a r g e d w i t h 2 3 c o u n t s o f f a l s e l y h o l d i n g h i m s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r i n

This conduct included stating on a business car d and a web pag e that he was an attorney and 1

licensed to prac tice law in Mexi co; signing a leg al document in a place desig nated for an attorney ’s

signa ture; st ating

, in a professional-liability insurance application, that he wa s admitted to the bar

in 2000, had been a full-ti m e at t o rn ey for seven y ear s, and was a member in g ood standing of t he

state bar of Mexi co; and acc epting chec ks for attorney ’s fee s amounting to more than $1.3 milli on.Celis - 3

v i o l a t i o n o f T e x a s P e n a l C o d e S e c t i o n 3 8

. 1 2 2

, w h i c h

, h e r e a f t e r

, w e r e f

e r t o a s t h e “ f

a l s e

l a w y e r s t a t u t e

. ” T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. W i t h r e s p e c t t o a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

, t h e t r i a l

c o u r t ’ s i n s t r u c t i o n s r e q u i r e d t h e j u r y t o d e t e r m i n e o n l y w h e t h e r a p p e l l a n t i n t e n d e d t o o b t a i n

a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f

i t f o r h i m s e l f i n h o l d i n g h i m s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r

. T h e i n s t r u c t i o n s d i d n o t

i n c l u d e a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e r e m a i n i n g e l e m e n t s t h a t a l l e g e d t h a t

a p p e l l a n t h a d h e l d h i m s e l f o u t a s a n a t t o r n e y

, w a s n o t c u r r e n t l y l i c e n s e d t o p r a c t i c e l a w

, a n d

w a s n o t i n g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s a n d o t h e r a p p l i c a b l e a u t h o r i t i e s

.

T r a c k i n g t h e l a n g u a g e o f t h e f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e

, t h e c h a r g e i n s t r u c t e d

, i n r e l e v a n t p a r t

,

N o w

, i f y o u f

i n d f r o m t h e e v i d e n c e b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t t h a t o n o r a b o u t

[ d a t e ]

, i n N u e c e s C o u n t y

, T e x a s

, t h e D e f e n d a n t

, M a u r i c i o C e l i s

, d i d t h e n a n d

t h e r e

, w i t h i n t e n t t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t f o r h i m s e l f

, h o l d h i m s e l f o u t

a s a l a w y e r

, t o w i t : [ b y m a n n e r a n d m e a n s ]

, a n d t h e d e f e n d a n t w a s n o t t h e n

a n d t h e r e l i c e n s e d t o p r a c t i c e l a w i n t h i s s t a t e

, a n o t h e r s t a t e

, o r a f o r e i g n

c o u n t r y a n d w a s n o t t h e n a n d t h e r e i n g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r o f

T e x a s a n d t h e s t a t e b a r o r l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t y o f a n y s t a t e o r f o r e i g n c o u n t r y

w h e r e t h e d e f

e n d a n t w a s l i c e n s e d t o p r a c t i c e l a w

, t h e n y o u w i l l f i n d t h e

d e f e n d a n t g u i l t y o f t h e o f

f e n s e o f f a l s e l y h o l d i n g h i m s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r a s

c h a r g e d i n t h e i n d i c t m e n t

.

S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. I n d e c l i n i n g t o i n s t r u c t t h e j u r y o n a n a d d i t i o n a l c u l p a b l e

m e n t a l s t a t e

, t h e c o u r t o v e r r u l e d a p p e l l a n t ’ s r e q u e s t t o a d d t h e w o r d “ i n t e n t i o n a l l y ” b e f o r e

t h e p h r a s e “ d i d t h e n a n d t h e r e ” s o a s t o r e q u i r e t h e j u r y t o f i n d t h a t h e i n t e n d e d e v e r y e l e m e n t

o f t h e o f

f e n s e

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t a l s o o v e r r u l e d a p p e l l a n t ’ s r e q u e s t f o r a m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t

i n s t r u c t i o n o n h i s a l l e g e d m i s t a k e n b e l i e f t h a t h e w a s l i c e n s e d t o p r a c t i c e l a w b y

, a n d i n g o o d

s t a n d i n g w i t h

, t h e l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t y o f M e x i c o

.

T h e c h a r g e d e f

i n e d “ g o o d s t a n d i n g

, ” s t a t i n g

,Celis - 4

“ G o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s ” m e a n s :

( 1 ) B e i n g a “ M e m b e r i n G o o d S t a n d i n g ” o f t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s ; o r

( 2 ) B e i n g c e r t i f

i e d t o p r a c t i c e i n T e x a s a s a F o r e i g n L e g a l C o n s u l t a n t b y

t h e T e x a s B o a r d o f L a w E x a m i n e r s

.

A “ M e m b e r i n G o o d S t a n d i n g ” o f t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s i s s o m e o n e w h o

m e e t s a n d c o m p l i e s w i t h a l l a p p l i c a b l e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e R u l e s o f t h e

S u p r e m e C o u r t o f T e x a s g o v e r n i n g a d m i s s i o n t o t h e b a r o f T e x a s

, a n d w h o i s

n o t i n d e f

a u l t o f p a y m e n t o f d u e s a n d w h o i s n o t u n d e r s u s p e n s i o n f r o m

p r a c t i c e

.

A “ F o r e i g n L e g a l C o n s u l t a n t ” i s s o m e o n e c e r t i f i e d u n d e r t h e R u l e s o f t h e

S u p r e m e C o u r t o f T e x a s g o v e r n i n g a d m i s s i o n t o t h e B a r o f T e x a s

, a n d w h o i s

c o n s i d e r e d a l a w y e r a f

f i l i a t e d w i t h t h e B a r o f T e x a s

.

A p p e l l a n t o b

j e c t e d t o t h e i n s t r u c t i o n d e f i n i n g t h e t e r m “ f

o r e i g n l e g a l c o n s u l t a n t ” a s a n

i m p r o p e r c o m m e n t o n t h e w e i g h t o f t h e e v i d e n c e

, w h i c h t h e t r i a l c o u r t o v e r r u l e d

. T h e j u r y

f o u n d a p p e l l a n t g u i l t y o n 1 4 c o u n t s a n d a s s e s s e d a 1 0

- y e a r s e n t e n c e f o r e a c h o f

f e n s e

,

p r o b a t e d f

o r 1 0 y e a r s

.

O n a p p e a l

, a p p e l l a n t c h a l l e n g e d t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s o v e r r u l i n g o f h i s t h r e e j u r y

- c h a r g e

c o m p l a i n t s

. T h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s u p h e l d t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s r u l i n g s

, d e t e r m i n i n g t h a t t h e

s t a t u t e ’ s c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e w a s l i m i t e d t o t h e i n t e n t t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t ; t h a t

n o m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t i n s t r u c t i o n w a s r e q u i r e d ; a n d t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t p r o p e r l y d e f i n e d t h e t e r m

“ f o r e i g n l e g a l c o n s u l t a n t

. ” W e g r a n t e d r e v i e w o f a p p e l l a n t ’ s t h r e e j u r y

- c h a r g e i s s u e s

. 2

Appellant’s thre e jury -cha rg e issues state: 2

(1 ) T h e court of appea ls err ed by holding that a culpable mental state was not

require d under [the f

a l s e

- l a w y e r statute].Celis - 5

I I

. C u l p a b l e

- M e n t a l

- S t a t e A n a l y s i s

I n h i s f i r s t i s s u e f

o r d i s c r e t i o n a r y r e v i e w

, a p p e l l a n t c o n t e n d s t h a t t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

e r r e d b y o v e r r u l i n g h i s c h a l l e n g e t o t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s d e n i a l o f a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n a c u l p a b l e

m e n t a l s t a t e b e y o n d t h e o n e p r e s c r i b e d i n t h e s t a t u t e

. A s o n d i r e c t a p p e a l

, h e c o n t e n d s t h a t

t h e s t a t u t e d e f

i n i n g t h e o f

f e n s e o f f a l s e l y h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r i s s i l e n t o n t h e

r e q u i r e m e n t o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a n d d o e s n o t p l a i n l y d i s p e n s e w i t h o n e

, a n d t h a t t h e

t r i a l c o u r t

, t h e r e f

o r e

, w a s r e q u i r e d t o i n s t r u c t a s t o o n e

. C e l i s v

. S t a t e

, 3 5 4 S

. W

. 3 d 7

, 2 7 ( T e x

.

A p p

. — C o r p u s C h r i s t i 2 0 1 1 ) ( c i t i n g T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § § 6

. 0 2

, 3 8

. 1 2 2 )

. T h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

w a s “ n o t p e r s u a d e d t h a t t h e [ s t a t u t e ] i s s i l e n t o n t h e r e q u i r e m e n t o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

. ”

I d

. I t h e l d t h a t t h e s t a t u t e p r e s c r i b e d a m e n t a l s t a t e t h r o u g h t h e r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t t h e

d e f e n d a n t a c t w i t h t h e “ i n t e n t t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t f o r h i m s e l f

, ” w h i c h s a t i s f

i e d

“ t h e t r a d i t i o n a l m e n s r e a r e q u i r e m e n t o f t h e c r i m i n a l l a w

. ” I d

. W e a g r e e

.

A

. S t a n d a r d o f R e v i e w

T h e t r i a l c o u r t m u s t g i v e t h e j u r y a w r i t t e n c h a r g e t h a t s e t s f o r t h t h e l a w a p p l i c a b l e

t o t h e c a s e

. T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 6

. 1 4

. A c h a r g e t h a t d o e s n o t s e t o u t a l l o f t h e

e s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t s o f t h e o f f e n s e i s f u n d a m e n t a l l y d e f

e c t i v e

. M

a r t i n v

. S t a t e

, 2 0 0 S

. W

. 3 d

6 3 5

, 6 3 9 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 0 6 ) ; Z u c k e r m a n v

. S t a t e

, 5 9 1 S

. W

. 2 d 4 9 5

, 4 9 6 ( T e x

. C r i m

.

(2) The court of appea ls err ed by holding that appellant was not e ntitled to a char g e

on mistake of fa ct.

(3) The court of appea ls err ed by holdi n g t h at i nclusion of a definition of the term

“for eig n leg al consultant” in the jury char g e wa s not error

.Celis - 6

A p p

. 1 9 7 9 )

. A p p e l l a t e r e v i e w o f c l a i m s o f j u r y

- c h a r g e e r r o r i n v o l v e s a d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f

w h e t h e r t h e c h a r g e i s e r r o n e o u s a n d

, i f i t i s

, a h a r m a n a l y s i s

. K i r s c h v

. S t a t e

, 3 5 7 S

. W

. 3 d

6 4 5

, 6 4 9 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 2 )

. B e c a u s e t h e r e i s n o c h a r g e e r r o r i n t h i s c a s e

, w e n e e d n o t

c o n d u c t a h a r m a n a l y s i s

. 3

B

. P r e s u m p t i o n o f C u l p a b l e M e n t a l S t a t e a n d S t a t u t o r y I n t e r p r e t a t i o n

“ I f t h e d e f

i n i t i o n o f a n o f

f e n s e d o e s n o t p r e s c r i b e a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

, a c u l p a b l e

m e n t a l s t a t e i s n e v e r t h e l e s s r e q u i r e d u n l e s s t h e d e f i n i t i o n p l a i n l y d i s p e n s e s w i t h a n y m e n t a l

e l e m e n t

. ” T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 6

. 0 2 ( b ) ; s e e a l s o A g u i r r e v

. S t a t e

, 2 2 S

. W

. 3 d 4 6 3

, 4 7 2 ( T e x

.

C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 9 )

. T h e r e f o r e

, t h e t w o p e r t i n e n t q u e s t i o n s a r e w h e t h e r t h e s t a t u t e d e f i n i n g t h e

o f f e n s e o f h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r p r e s c r i b e s a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a n d

, i f n o t

,

w h e t h e r a m e n t a l s t a t e i s n e v e r t h e l e s s r e q u i r e d

. T h i s C o u r t h a s e n u m e r a t e d s e v e r a l f a c t o r s

t h a t c o u r t s m a y c o n s i d e r “ i n d e c i d i n g w h e t h e r t h e l e g i s l a t u r e m e a n t t o i m p o s e l i a b i l i t y

w i t h o u t f a u l t o r

, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d

, r e a l l y m e a n t t o r e q u i r e f a u l t t h o u g h i t f

a i l e d t o s p e l l i t o u t

c l e a r l y

. ” A g u i r r e

, 2 2 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 7 5

. F a c t o r s r e l e v a n t t o t h i s c a s e i n c l u d e ( 1 ) t h e l a n g u a g e

o f t h e s t a t u t e a n d ( 2 ) t h e n a t u r e o f t h e c o n d u c t r e g u l a t e d

, t h e r i s k o f h a r m t o t h e p u b l i c

, a n d

t h e d e f e n d a n t ’ s a b i l i t y t o a s c e r t a i n f a c t s

. I d

. a t 4 7 5

- 7 6

.

When a defe ndant proper ly prese rved a

complaint as to the cha

rg e, the standa

rd of ha rm is 3

whether “the err or appea

ring from the rec ord was calc ulated to injure the rig hts of defe ndant,” which

we have construed as “some harm.” T E X

. C O D E C R I M

. P R O C

. art. 36.19; Trevino v. State

, 100 S.W .3d

232, 242 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). Conversely

, unprese rved char g e err or war rants reve rsal only when

the err or resulted in eg reg ious harm. Picke ns v. State

, 165 S.W .3d 675, 680 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).Celis - 7

1

. P l a i n L a n g u a g e S u g g e s t s T h a t N o A d d i t i o n a l C u l p a b l e M e n t a l

S t a t e I s R e q u i r e d

S t a t u t o r y “ w o r d s a n d p h r a s e s s h a l l b e r e a d i n c o n t e x t a n d c o n s t r u e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e

r u l e s o f g r a m m a r a n d c o m m o n u s a g e

. ” T E X

. G O V ’ T C O D E § 3 1 1

. 0 1 1 ( a ) ; T o v a r v

. S t a t e

, 9 7 8

S

. W

. 2 d 5 8 4

, 5 8 6 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 8 )

. I t i s w e l l s e t t l e d t h a t t h e c o m p l e t e o m i s s i o n f r o m

a s t a t u t e o f a n y m e n t i o n o f i n t e n t w i l l n o t n e c e s s a r i l y b e c o n s t r u e d a s e l i m i n a t i n g t h a t

e l e m e n t f r o m a n o f

f e n s e

. A g u i r r e

, 2 2 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 7 1

. H o w e v e r

, t h e p r e s c r i p t i o n o f a m e n t a l

s t a t e a s t o c e r t a i n p o r t i o n s o f a s t a t u t e

, b u t n o t a s t o o t h e r s

, i s c o m p e l l i n g e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e

L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t o d i s p e n s e w i t h a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h e l a t t e r

. I d

. a t 4 7 3 ( o b s e r v i n g t h a t

“ o m i s s i o n o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e f r o m o n l y o n e o f t h e f o u r s e c t i o n s w a s a c l e a r

i m p l i c a t i o n o f t h e l e g i s l a t u r e ’ s i n t e n t t o d i s p e n s e w i t h a m e n t a l e l e m e n t i n t h a t s e c t i o n ” )

.

T h e s t a t u t e d e s c r i b i n g t h e o f f e n s e o f h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r s t a t e s

,

A p e r s o n c o m m i t s a n o f f e n s e i f

, w i t h i n t e n t t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t f o r

h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f

, t h e p e r s o n h o l d s h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r

, u n l e s s

h e o r s h e i s c u r r e n t l y l i c e n s e d t o p r a c t i c e l a w i n t h i s s t a t e

, a n o t h e r s t a t e

, o r a

f o r e i g n c o u n t r y a n d i s i n g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s a n d t h e

s t a t e b a r o r l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t y o f a n y a n d a l l o t h e r s t a t e s a n d f o r e i g n c o u n t r i e s

w h e r e l i c e n s e d

.

T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2 ( a )

. I t i s p l a i n f r o m t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e t e x t i n S u b s e c t i o n ( a ) t h a t

t h e o n l y m e n t a l s t a t e p r e s c r i b e d

— “ w i t h i n t e n t ”

— m o d i f i e s a n d a p p l i e s o n l y t o t h e e l e m e n t

“ t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t f o r h i m s e l f o r h e r s e l f

. ” I d

. T h e m o s t n a t u r a l g r a m m a t i c a l

r e a d i n g o f t h e s t a t u t e s u g g e s t s t h a t t h a t m e n t a l s t a t e d o e s n o t e x t e n d t o e i t h e r ( 1 ) t h e e l e m e n t

s e t f o r t h a f t e r t h a t p h r a s e

, i

. e

. , “ t h e p e r s o n h o l d s h i m s e l f

. . . o u t a s a l a w y e r

, ” o r ( 2 ) t h eCelis - 8

e l e m e n t s e x p r e s s e d i n t h e s u b s e q u e n t d e p e n d e n t c l a u s e b e g i n n i n g w i t h “ u n l e s s

, ” i

. e

. , t h e

l i c e n s i n g a n d g o o d

- s t a n d i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s

. S e e i d

. I n o t h e r w o r d s

, t h e s t a t u t e d o e s n o t

e x p r e s s l y p r e s c r i b e a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o a n y t h i n g o t h e r t h a n a c t i n g t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c

b e n e f i t

. T h i s p r e s c r i p t i o n o f a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o o n e e l e m e n t a n d n o t a s t o o t h e r s s u f f i c i e n t l y

d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e L e g i s l a t u r e ’ s i n t e n t t o d i s p e n s e w i t h a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h o s e o t h e r

e l e m e n t s

. S e e A g u i r r e

, 2 2 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 7 3 ; s e e a l s o E x p a r t e S m i t h 6 4 5 S

. W

. 2 d 3 1 0

, 3 1 1

- 1 2

( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 3 ) ( h o l d i n g t h a t t h e f t s t a t u t e r e q u i r e s o n l y s t a t u t o r i l y p r e s c r i b e d i n t e n t

“ t o d e p r i v e t h e o w n e r o f p r o p e r t y ” a n d n o t “ a n i n d e p e n d e n t c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e ” w i t h

r e s p e c t t o a p p r o p r i a t i n g p r o p e r t y w i t h o u t o w n e r ’ s c o n s e n t )

. W e a r e u n p e r s u a d e d b y

a p p e l l a n t ’ s a r g u m e n t t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e m u s t m o r e e x p r e s s l y i n d i c a t e i t s i n t e n t t o d i s p e n s e

w i t h a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e t h a n b y i t s s p e c i f i c i n c l u s i o n o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o

s o m e e l e m e n t s a n d i t s e x c l u s i o n o f t h a t r e q u i r e m e n t a s t o o t h e r s

.

I n o t h e r c a s e s i n v o l v i n g g r a m m a t i c a l l y s i m i l a r s t a t u t e s

, w e h a v e c o n s t r u e d

p r e s c r i p t i o n o f a m e n t a l s t a t e o n l y a s t o s o m e e l e m e n t s a s e v i n c i n g l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t t o

d i s p e n s e w i t h a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o o t h e r e l e m e n t s

. I n L o n g v

. S t a t e

, i n w h i c h w e i n t e r p r e t e d

t h e “ s t a l k i n g s t a t u t e

, ” w e c o n c l u d e d t h a t

, b y p r e s c r i b i n g a m e n t a l s t a t e i n o n e s e c t i o n o f t h e 4

The former stalking statute provided, “(a ) A person commits an offe nse if, with inte n t to 4

hara ss, annoy

, alar

m, abuse, torment, or embar rass another

, he

. . . (7)( A) on more than one occa sion

eng ag es in conduct direc ted specific ally toward the [vi ctim]

. . . and (C) on at least one of those

occa sions eng ag es in the conduct afte r the [vi ctim] has repor ted to a law enfor ceme nt ag ency the

conduct

. . . .” For

mer T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 42.07(a) (West 1993) . The Long Court concluded that,

g iven the mental state presc ribed in Section (a)

, the L eg islature plainly dispensed with a mental state

in Subsection (7)(C). Long v. State , 931 S.W .2d 285, 291 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).Celis - 9

s t a t u t e b u t o m i t t i n g a m e n t a l s t a t e i n a s u b s e q u e n t s u b s e c t i o n

, “ t h e l e g i s l a t u r e p l a i n l y

d i s p e n s e d w i t h a n y a d d i t i o n a l m e n t a l s t a t e i n [ t h a t s u b s e c t i o n ] t h a t m i g h t o t h e r w i s e b e

r e q u i r e d

. ” 9 3 1 S

. W

. 2 d 2 8 5

, 2 9 1 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 6 )

. S i m i l a r l y

, i n J o h n s o n v

. S t a t e

, w e

i n t e r p r e t e d t h e i n d e c e n c y

- w i t h

- a

- c h i l d s t a t u t e a s d i s p e n s i n g w i t h a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h e 5

c h i l d ’ s a g e i n k e e p i n g w i t h “ t h e c l e a r l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t

. ” 9 6 7 S

. W

. 2 d 8 4 8

, 8 4 9 ( T e x

. C r i m

.

A p p

. 1 9 9 8 )

. A n d i n L o m a x v

. S t a t e

, i n w h i c h w e h e l d t h a t t h e f e l o n y

- m u r d e r s t a t u t e d i d n o t 6

r e q u i r e a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

, w e s t a t e d t h a t “ [ i ] t i s s i g n i f i c a n t a n d l a r g e l y d i s p o s i t i v e t h a t

[ t h e f e l o n y

- m u r d e r s u b s e c t i o n ] o m i t s a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e w h i l e t h e o t h e r t w o s u b s e c t i o n s

i n [ t h a t s e c t i o n ] e x p r e s s l y r e q u i r e a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

. ” 2 3 3 S

. W

. 3 d 3 0 2

, 3 0 4 ( T e x

. C r i m

.

A p p

. 2 0 0 7 )

. W e c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h i s w a s “ a c l e a r i m p l i c a t i o n o f t h e l e g i s l a t u r e ’ s i n t e n t t o

The former indece ncy -with-a- child statute states, in rele vant part, “(a ) A person commits a n 5

offe nse i f, wit h a child y oung er than 17 y ear s and not his spouse, whether t he child is of t he same

or opposite sex, he: (1) eng ag es in sexual contac t with the child; or (2) exposes his anus or any part

of his g enitals, knowing the child is prese nt, with intent to arouse or g ratify the sexual desire of any

person.” For

mer T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 21.11 (West 19 9 8 ). J u d ge Price, concur ring

, noted that,

beca use subsection (a) (2) “conta ins the mental elements ‘knowing ’ and ‘intent,’ and [because] those

same mental elements are apar t from [subs ection (a) ], which specifie s the ag e of the victim

, t he

intent of the leg islature was to dispense with a culpable mental state as to the victim’s ag e.” Johnson

v. Stat e

, 967 S.W .2d 848, 852 (Tex. Cri m

. Ap p

. 1998) (Price, J

., concur ring ). C iting Long

, J udg e

Price rea soned that, althoug h there was no statutory lang uag e expressly dispensing with the mentalstate require ment, “it is prec isely the absence of a culpable mental state as to the victim’s ag e, when

the leg islature has presc ribed mental elements as to other portions of the offe nse, t h at m ak es the

leg islative intent clear .” Id. (citing Long , 931 S.W .2d at 291).

The felony -murder statute provides that a person commits t h e o ff en s e o f murder if he 6

“commits or attempts to commit a felony

, other than manslaug hter, and in the course o f an d i n

further ance of the commission or attempt, or in immediate flig ht from the commission or attempt,

he commits or attempts to commit an act clea rly dang erous to human life that cause s the death of an

individual.” T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 19.02(b)( 3).Celis - 10

d i s p e n s e w i t h a m e n t a l e l e m e n t i n t h a t [ s u b ] s e c t i o n

. ” I d

. T h e p l a i n l a n g u a g e u s e d t o d e s c r i b e 7

t h e o f f e n s e o f h o l d i n g o n e s e l f

o u t a s a l a w y e r

, t h e r e f

o r e

, s u g g e s t s t h a t a p e r s o n c a n b e h e l d

c r i m i n a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r h o l d i n g h i m s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r i f h e d o e s n o t s a t i s f y t h e l i c e n s i n g

a n d g o o d

- s t a n d i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s

, s o l o n g a s h e d o e s s o i n t e n d i n g t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c

b e n e f i t

.

F u r t h e r m o r e

, w e n o t e t h a t t h e s t a t u t e f i r s t d e f i n e s h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r f o r

p r o f i t a s c r i m i n a l

, f

o l l o w e d b y t h e s u b o r d i n a t e c o n j u n c t i o n “ u n l e s s

. ” T E X

. P E N A L C O D E §

3 8

. 1 2 2

. T h i s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t o c r i m i n a l i z e t h e c o n d u c t “ u n l e s s ”

c e r t a i n c r i t e r i a a r e m e t

. S e e i d

. I n s h o r t

, t h e s t a t u t e d e f i n e s c o n d u c t a s u n l a w f

u l u n l e s s o t h e r

c i r c u m s t a n c e s e x i s t

. T h i s f u r t h e r i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e d i d n o t i n t e n d f o r a m e n t a l

s t a t e t o a p p l y t o t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s s e t f o r t h i n t h e s t a t u t e t h a t r e n d e r t h e o t h e r w i s e u n l a w f u l

c o n d u c t l a w f

u l

.

2

. N a t u r e o f C o n d u c t S u g g e s t s T h a t N o A d d i t i o n a l C u l p a b l e

M e n t a l S t a t e I s R e q u i r e d

a

. A c t i n g a s a l a w y e r i s h i g h l y r e g u l a t e d c o n d u c t

T h e s t a t u t e a t i s s u e i n t h i s c a s e i s s u b s t a n t i a l l y a n a l o g o u s t o t h e o r d i n a n c e c o n s t r u e d

i n T o v a r v

. S t a t e

, i n w h i c h t h i s C o u r t h e l d t h a t c r i m i n a l l i a b i l i t y m a y b e i m p o s e d w i t h o u t

See also Schultz v. State

, 923 S.W .2d 1, 2 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (construing the ch i l d- 7

abandonme nt statute at Texas Penal Code Section 22.04 1(b), holding that “the fac t that

‘intentionally ’ immediately prec edes ‘aba ndons’ means that the presc ribed mental state is connec ted

with the act of abandonme nt itself” rathe r than element of surrounding circ umstances) ; Neill v. State,

229 S.W .2d 361, 363 (Tex. Crim. App. 1950) (construing meat-inspec tion statute, which presc ribed

mental states as to some elements and not as to others, as not requiring proof of a mental state as to

latter e lements).Celis - 11

p r o o f o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e f o r c e r t a i n t y p e s o f c o n d u c t t h a t p l a c e u p o n a p e r s o n a d u t y

t o u n d e r s t a n d a n d c o m p l y w i t h a p p l i c a b l e l e g a l r e q u i r e m e n t s

. 9 7 8 S

. W

. 2 d a t 5 8 7

.

I n t e r p r e t i n g t h e C l o s e d M e e t i n g A c t

, w e h e l d t h a t i t d i d n o t r e q u i r e p r o o f o f a m e n t a l s t a t e 8

w i t h r e s p e c t t o w h e t h e r a c l o s e d m e e t i n g w a s s t a t u t o r i l y p r o h i b i t e d

, a l t h o u g h i t d i d e x p r e s s l y

p r e s c r i b e a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o o t h e r e l e m e n t s

. I d

. a t 5 8 7

- 8 8

. E x a m i n i n g i t s l a n g u a g e “ a n d t h e

r u l e s o f g r a m m a r a n d c o m m o n u s a g e

, ” w e d e t e r m i n e d t h a t i t p l a i n l y d i s p e n s e d w i t h a

c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o w h e t h e r t h e m e e t i n g w a s n o t p e r m i t t e d t o b e c l o s e d

. I d

. a t 5 8 7

.

W e a l s o o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e p l a i n

- l a n g u a g e r e a d i n g w a s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e A c t ’ s “ p u r p o s e o f

s a f e g u a r d i n g t h e p u b l i c ’ s i n t e r e s t i n k n o w i n g t h e w o r k i n g s o f i t s g o v e r n m e n t a l b o d i e s ” a n d

n o t e d t h a t i t “ p l a c e s a d u t y u p o n m e m b e r s o f g o v e r n m e n t a l b o d i e s t o h o l d o p e n m e e t i n g s a n d

a c o n c o m i t a n t d u t y t o f i n d a n e x c e p t i o n t o t h e g e n e r a l r u l e i f t h e y d e s i r e t o h a v e a c l o s e d

m e e t i n g

. ” I

d

. I t c r i m i n a l l y s a n c t i o n e d “ n e g l e c t w h e r e t h e l a w r e q u i r e s c a r e

, o r i n a c t i o n

w h e r e i t i m p o s e s a d u t y

. ” I d

. 9

The Closed Meeting Act provides, “A member of a g overnme ntal body commits an offe nse 8

if a closed meeting is not permitted under this chapte r and the member knowing ly : (1) calls or aids

in calling or org anizing the closed meeting

, whether it is a specia l or called clos ed meeting ; (2)

closes or aids in closing the meeting to the public, if it is a reg ular meeting ; or (3) participa tes in the

closed meeting

, whether it is a reg ular, specia l, or called meeting .” T E X

. G O V ’ T C O D E § 551.144(a) ;

Tovar v. State , 978 S.W .2d 584, 586 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998).

By compar ison, in Aguirre v. State

, we construed a municipal ordinanc e that provided that 9

“[n] o person shall own, opera te or conduct any business in an adult bookstore, adult motion picture

theater o r nude live enter tainment club within one thousand fee t of” cer tain ty pes of proper

ty

. 22

S.W .3d 463, 464 n.1 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). Although the ordinanc e did not expressly presc ribe

any mental stat e, t h e C o urt held that proof of a culpable mental state was require d. Id

. at 476.

Among other extratex tual fac tors, the Court considere d whether the statute define d a strict-liability

offe nse. Id. at 472. The Court explained that, althoug h “[s] ome fea tures of the ordinanc e are

consistent with imposing strict liability

. . . it is hardly in the class of public-saf ety statutes that weCelis - 12

L i k e t h e o r d i n a n c e i n T

o v a r

, t h e f

a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e d e l i n e a t e s a m e n t a l s t a t e

, t h o u g h

n o t a t r a d i t i o n a l m e n s r e a

, o r “ c r i m i n a l i n t e n t

. ” S e e T o v a r

, 9 7 8 S

. W

. 2 d a t 5 9 0

. T h i s s t a t u t e

,

w h i c h a p p l i e s t o t h o s e w h o h o l d t h e m s e l v e s o u t a s l a w y e r s f o r e c o n o m i c g a i n

, e v i n c e s a

l e g i s l a t i v e i n t e n t t o i m p o s e a d u t y o f c a r e u p o n t h o s e w h o e n g a g e i n t h a t c o n d u c t

. S e e T E X

.

P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. T h e s t a t u t e

, t h e r e f o r e

, r e g u l a t e s c o n d u c t f

o r w h i c h “ s p e c i a l s k i l l a n d

a t t e n t i o n m a y r e a s o n a b l y b e d e m a n d e d

. ” S e e A g u i r r e

, 2 2 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 7 5 n

. 4 4

. T h e s p e c i a l

s k i l l o f p r a c t i c i n g l a w ( a n d r e p r e s e n t i n g o n e s e l f a s a l a w y e r ) h a s l o n g b e e n s u b j e c t t o t h e

a t t e n t i o n o f

, a n d s t r i c t r e g u l a t i o n b y

, t h e S t a t e s

. T h i s r e g u l a t i o n i s i n t e n d e d t o p r o t e c t t h e 1 0

p u b l i c f r o m u n t r a i n e d i n d i v i d u a l s

, w h o e n d a n g e r t h e p u b l i c ’ s p e r s o n a l a n d p r o p e r t y r i g h t s

,

a s w e l l a s t h e o r d e r l y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e j u d i c i a l s y s t e m

. S e e B r o w n v

. U n a u t h o r i z e d

P r a c t i c e o

f L a w C o m m i t t e e

, 7 4 2 S

. W

. 2 d 3 4

, 4 1

- 4 2 ( T e x

. A p p

. — D a l l a s 1 9 8 7

, w r i t d e n i e d )

( “ T h e o b j e c t i v e i s t o p r o t e c t t h e p u b l i c a g a i n s t i n j u r y f r o m a c t s o r s e r v i c e s

, p r o f e s s i o n a l i n

n a t u r e

, d e e m e d b y b o t h t h e l e g i s l a t u r e a n d t h e c o u r t s t o b e t h e p r a c t i c e o f l a w

, d o n e o r

p e r f o r m e d b y t h o s e n o t d e e m e d b y l a w t o b e q u a l i f i e d t o p e r f

o r m t h e m

. ” )

.

have found to impose strict liability .” Id. at 476. We noted that the ordi nance was unlike many

public-we lfare statutes that “pre suppose a c ontinuous activity

, such as car ry ing on a business.” Id.

at 475. We observe d that, with respe ct to such ac t i v i t y

, “(a ) specia l skill and attention may

rea sonably be demande d, and (b) if the law is broken there will be a suspicion that it was a delibera te

brea ch due to se lf-intere st.” Id. at 475 n.44 (interna l quotations and citations omitt ed).

See Cummings v. Missouri

, 71 U.S. 277, 319 (1866) (states may impose rea sonable 1 0

reg ulations on prac tice of law); NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415, 456 (1963) (“ [T] he re g ulation of

profe ssional standards for members of the bar com es t o us with even deepe r roots in history and

policy

, since courts for centur ies have possessed disciplinary power s incident to the administration

of justice.”); Gentile v. State Bar of Nevada

, 501 U.S. 1030, 1066 (1991) (“I n the United States, the

courts have historically

reg ulated admission to the prac tice of la w bef ore the m.”).Celis - 13

T h e p l a i n l a n g u a g e r e v e a l s t h e L e g i s l a t u r e ’ s i n t e n t t o i m p o s e u p o n t h o s e w h o h o l d

t h e m s e l v e s o u t a s l a w y e r s f o r a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f

i t a d u t y t o k n o w a n d c o m p l y w i t h

a p p l i c a b l e r e g u l a t i o n s

, e n f o r c e a b l e b y c r i m i n a l p e n a l t i e s

. B a l a n c i n g r e l a t i v e h a r d s h i p s

, t h e 1 1

L e g i s l a t u r e h a s p l a c e d t h e b u r d e n o f c o m p l y i n g w i t h c o n d i t i o n s i m p o s e d f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n

o f t h e p u b l i c u p o n t h o s e w h o h o l d t h e m s e l v e s o u t a s l a w y e r s f o r p r o f i t

, r a t h e r t h a n p l a c i n g

u p o n t h e p u b l i c t h e b u r d e n o f d e t e r m i n i n g w h e t h e r a n i n d i v i d u a l i s q u a l i f i e d a n d e l i g i b l e t o

p r o v i d e l e g a l s e r v i c e s

. S e e U n i t e d S t a t e s v

. D o t t e r w e i c h

, 3 2 0 U

. S

. 2 7 7

, 2 8 0

- 8 1 ( 1 9 4 3 )

. G i v e n

t h e n a t u r e o f t h e c o n d u c t r e g u l a t e d a n d t h e p u b l i c e x p e c t a t i o n t h a t s u c h c o n d u c t i s s u b j e c t

t o s t r i n g e n t r e g u l a t i o n

, t h i s i s f u r t h e r i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t o d i s p e n s e w i t h

a n y c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e b e y o n d t h a t w h i c h i t p r e s c r i b e d

.

W e c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e p l a i n l a n g u a g e o f t h e f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e r e q u i r e s p r o o f o f a

m e n t a l s t a t e o n l y a s t o t h e e c o n o m i c

- b e n e f i t e l e m e n t a n d p l a i n l y d i s p e n s e s w i t h a n y

a d d i t i o n a l c u l p a b l e

- m e n t a l

- s t a t e r e q u i r e m e n t

. T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. I t i m p o s e s u p o n

t h o s e w h o h o l d t h e m s e l v e s o u t a s l a w y e r s a d u t y t o b e a w a r e o f

, a n d c o m p l y w i t h

, s t a t u t o r y

r e q u i r e m e n t s

. T h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s s u p p o r t e d b y t h e s t a t u t o r y l a n g u a g e a n d p o l i c y

c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a n d d o e s n o t y i e l d a n a b s u r d r e s u l t

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t

, t h e r e f o r e

, d i d n o t e r r i n

Our interpre tation is fur

ther supporte d by

the fa ct that the L eg islature limit ed the statute to 1 1

penalize only those who eng ag e in the proscr ibed conduct with intent to g ain an economic benef it.

This signific antly narr ows the scope of the statute so as to avoid ensn ar i ng those who offe r fre e

advice that happens to be leg al in nature

, such as the “jailhouse lawy er” or individuals working pro

bono, or those who repr esent themselves as lawy ers for other rea sons, such as curr y ing social favor

. See Ex parte M

anrique , 40 S.W .3d 552, 554 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2001, no pet.) (noting that

“[p] urely g ratuitous comments do not fall within the penal statute” g iven statute’s require ment that

intent to obtain an economic be nefit be pr oven).Celis - 14

i n s t r u c t i n g a s t o o n l y t h e m e n t a l s t a t e e x p r e s s l y p r e s c r i b e d i n t h e s t a t u t e

.

b

. U n l a w f

u l l y a c t i n g a s a l a w y e r i s n o t a

“ c i r c u m s t a n c e s ” t y p e o f f e n s e

A p p e l l a n t a r g u e s t h a t t h e f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e i s a n a l o g o u s t o s t a t u t e s t h a t w e h a v e

i n t e r p r e t e d a s r e q u i r i n g a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h e n a t u r e o f t h e c o n d u c t

, t h e r e s u l t o f

t h e c o n d u c t

, o r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s s u r r o u n d i n g t h e c o n d u c t

, c i t i n g i n s u p p o r t M c Q u e e n v

.

S t a t e

, 7 8 1 S

. W

. 2 d 6 0 0 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 9 )

. I n M c Q u e e n

, w e c o n s t r u e d t h e s t a t u t e

d e f i n i n g u n a u t h o r i z e d u s e o f a m o t o r v e h i c l e

, w h i c h p r o v i d e s

, “ A p e r s o n c o m m i t s a n o f f e n s e

i f h e i n t e n t i o n a l l y o r k n o w i n g l y o p e r a t e s a n o t h e r ’ s b o a t

, a i r p l a n e

, o r m o t o r

- p r o p e l l e d v e h i c l e

w i t h o u t t h e e f

f e c t i v e c o n s e n t o f t h e o w n e r

. ” I d

. a t 6 0 3 ( c i t i n g T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 1

. 0 7 ( a ) )

.

W e h e l d t h a t “ a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a p p l i e s t o w h e t h e r t h e d e f e n d a n t k n e w h i s u s e o f t h e

m o t o r v e h i c l e w a s w i t h o u t t h e e f f e c t i v e c o n s e n t o f t h e o w n e r

. ” I d

. M c Q u e e n

, h o w e v e r

, i s

d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e i n t w o w a y s

. F i r s t

, t h e l a n g u a g e o f t h a t s t a t u t e w a s a m b i g u o u s a s t o w h e t h e r

t h e p r e s c r i b e d m e n t a l s t a t e m o d i f i e d o n l y t h e c o n d u c t e l e m e n t “ o p e r a t e s ” o r a l s o m o d i f i e d

t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e e l e m e n t

, w i t h o u t t h e o w n e r ’ s c o n s e n t

. H e r e

, t h e s t a t u t o r y l a n g u a g e 1 2

p l a i n l y i n d i c a t e s t h a t “ i n t e n t ” m o d i f i e s o n l y t h e e c o n o m i c

- b e n e f i t e l e m e n t a n d n o t t h e n o n

McQ ueen v. State

, 781 S. W

. 2 d 6 0 0

, 6 0 3 -0 4 (T ex

. Crim. App. 1989) (“The confusion 1 2

conce rning culpability in an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle case stems in part from the fac t that

the culpable mental state of ‘intentionally or knowing ly ’ presc ribed by the statutory lang uag e does

not sy ntactica lly modify the circ umstances surrounding the conduct but instead prec edes the act of

opera ting a vehicle.” ); see also Liparot a v. United States

, 471 U.S. 419, 424 n.7 (1985) (interpr eting

statute that provided that “whoe ver knowing ly uses, transfe rs, acquir es, alters, or possesses coupons

or ot her authorization car ds in any manner not authorized by [t he st atute]” is subject t o a fine and

imprisonment, Supreme Court held that, “[a]s a matter of g rammar the statute is ambig uous; it is not

at all clea r how fa r down the se ntence the word ‘ knowing ly ’ is intended to trave l”).Celis - 15

l a w y e r

- s t a t u s e l e m e n t s

.

S e c o n d

, c r i t i c a l t o t h e M c Q u e e n a n a l y s i s w a s t h a t t h e c o n d u c t r e g u l a t e d b y t h e

s t a t u t e

— o p e r a t i n g a n o t h e r ’ s m o t o r

- p r o p e l l e d v e h i c l e

— i s a n “ o t h e r w i s e l a w f u l a c t ” t h a t

b e c o m e s c r i m i n a l o n l y u n d e r c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s

, n a m e l y

, w h e n d o n e w i t h o u t t h e o w n e r ’ s

c o n s e n t

. I

d

. a t 6 0 4

. D e c l i n i n g t o c o n s t r u e t h e s t a t u t e a s d i s p e n s i n g w i t h a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o

t h a t e l e m e n t

, w e o b s e r v e d t h a t “ [ t ] o r e q u i r e c u l p a b i l i t y o n l y a s t o t h e o t h e r w i s e l a w f u l a c t

o f o p e r a t i n g a v e h i c l e w h o l l y f a i l s t o s a f

e g u a r d c o n d u c t t h a t i s w i t h o u t g u i l t f r o m

c o n d e m n a t i o n a s c r i m i n a l

. ” I d

. W e

, t h e r e f

o r e

, c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h i s w a s a “ c i r c u m s t a n c e s ” t y p e

o f f e n s e

, w h i c h r e q u i r e s a p p l i c a t i o n o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e t o t h e c r i m i n a l i z i n g

c i r c u m s t a n c e s

. I

d

. a t 6 0 3

. B y c o n t r a s t

, h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r f

o r e c o n o m i c g a i n i s

n o t a n “ o t h e r w i s e l a w f

u l a c t ” ; r a t h e r

, a s p r e v i o u s l y d i s c u s s e d

, i t i s c o n d u c t t h a t h a s l o n g b e e n

s u b j e c t t o a h o s t o f s t r i c t r e g u l a t i o n s t h a t i s p r o h i b i t e d “ u n l e s s ” a p e r s o n c o m p l i e s w i t h t h o s e

n u m e r o u s r e g u l a t i o n s

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. U n l i k e M c Q u e e n

, t h e

“ c i r c u m s t a n c e s ” i n t h i s c a s e

— l i c e n s i n g a n d g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e p r o p e r

a u t h o r i t i e s

— r e n d e r a n o t h e r w i s e u n l a w f u l a c t

— h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r f o r

p r o f i t

— l a w f u l

. W e c o n c l u d e t h a t

, i n t h i s c a s e

, t h e L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t o l i m i t t h e m e n t a l

1 4

s t a t e r e q u i r e m e n t t o t h e e c o n o m i c

- b e n e f i t e l e m e n t a n d t o d i s p e n s e w i t h i t a s t o t h e o t h e r

s t a t u t o r y e l e m e n t s

. 1 3

I n g ener al, co u rt s h ave require d proof of a culpable mental state as to conduct that would 1 3

otherwise be innocent. See Lugo-Lugo v. State, 650 S.W .2d 72, 88 (Tex. Crim. Ap p

. 1983)

(explaining that, wh en “c i rc umstances surrounding conduct could make an otherwise benig n act

dang erous

. . . an additional culpable mental state as to that ‘conduc t element’ would be require d”);Celis - 16

C

. S a t t e r w h i t e I s I n a p p o s i t e

A p p e l l a n t c o n t e n d s t h a t

, i n S a t t e r w h i t e v

. S t a t e

, t h i s C o u r t h e l d t h a t t h e o f f e n s e o f

h o l d i n g o n e s e l f o u t a s a l a w y e r r e q u i r e d p r o o f o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e b e y o n d i n t e n t t o

o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t

. 9 7 9 S

. W

. 2 d 6 2 6 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 8 )

. I n S a t t e r w h i t e

, t h i s

C o u r t s t a t e d

, “ T h e r e c o r d b e f o r e u s r e f

l e c t s t h a t a p p e l l a n t i n t e n t i o n a l l y a n d k n o w i n g l y

v i o l a t e d [ t h e f

a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e ]

. ” I

d

. a t 6 2 8

. H o w e v e r

, t h i s p a s s i n g r e f e r e n c e t o c r i m i n a l

i n t e n t l a c k e d a n y a n a l y s i s a s t o w h e t h e r t h e s t a t u t e r e q u i r e d p r o o f t h a t a d e f e n d a n t a c t e d

i n t e n t i o n a l l y o r k n o w i n g l y

. F u r t h e r m o r e

, t h i s w a s n o n

- b i n d i n g d i c t u m b e c a u s e t h e i s s u e o n

a p p e a l w a s w h e t h e r “ a r e t r o a c t i v e r e t u r n t o p r e

- s u s p e n s i o n s t a t u s v i a t h e p a y m e n t o f p a s t

- d u e

S t a t e B a r d u e s e x c u s e s a n a t t o r n e y f r o m p r o s e c u t i o n f

o r i l l e g a l c o n d u c t c o m m i t t e d b y a n

a t t o r n e y d u r i n g t h a t a t t o r n e y ’ s p e r i o d o f s u s p e n s i o n

. ” I d

. a t 6 2 7 ; s e e a l

s o W o o l r i d g e v

. S t a t e

,

8 2 7 S

. W

. 2 d 9 0 0

, 9 0 5 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 2 ) ( d i c t a n o t b i n d i n g )

. W e d i s a p p r o v e o f a n y

s u g g e s t i o n i n S a t t e r w h i t e t h a t t h e S t a t e m u s t p r o v e a n y a d d i t i o n a l m e n t a l s t a t e s b e y o n d t h a t

e x p r e s s l y p r e s c r i b e d i n t h e s t a t u t e

.

Liparot a, 471 U.S. at 426 (avoiding construing statute t o d i s p en s e with mens rea wher e doing so

would “cr iminaliz e a broad rang e of appar ently innocent conduct” ); Morissette v. United States

, 342

U.S. 246, 275-76 (1952) (althoug h appellant had admitted the conduct, “that isolated fac t is not an

adequate basis on which the jury should find the criminal intent to steal or knowing ly conver t, tha t

is, wrongfull

y to deprive another of possession of proper ty ”). By contra st, courts g ener ally have not

require d proof of an additional culpable mental state when a statute has alre ady presc ribed a culpable

mental state as to at least one element of the offe nse. See Schultz, 923 S.W .2d at 4 (explaining that

offe nse of abandoning or endang ering a child can dispense with require ment of awa rene ss of dang er

beca use person subject to that offe nse has alre ady as s u m ed a d u t y to act rea sonably

, and it is the

neg lect of this duty that is criminalized); Lomax v. State

, 233 S.W .3d 302, 305 n.7 (Tex. Crim. App.

2007) (fe lony -murder statute may dispense with mental-state requirem en t b ecause statute “still

require s a def

endant to commit a fe lony involving a c lear ly

dang erous a ct”)

.Celis - 17

D

. P l a i n

- l a n g u a g e r e a d i n g d o e s n o t y i e l d a n a b s u r d r e s u l t

A p p e l l a n t n e x t c o n t e n d s t h a t c o n s t r u i n g t h e f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e a s d i s p e n s i n g w i t h

a m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h e l i c e n s i n g a n d g o o d

- s t a n d i n g e l e m e n t s w o u l d v i o l a t e a d e f e n d a n t ’ s

d u e

- p r o c e s s r i g h t s a n d

, t h e r e f o r e

, c o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n t h e L e g i s l a t u r e ’ s i n t e n t

. H o w e v e r

,

a p p e l l a n t ’ s c i t e d c a s e s f o c u s n o t o n d u e p r o c e s s

, b u t o n d e t e r m i n i n g c o n g r e s s i o n a l i n t e n t i n

c o n s t r u i n g f

e d e r a l s t a t u t e s

. S e e M o r i s s e t t e v

. U n i t e d S t a t e s

, 3 4 2 U

. S

. 2 4 6

, 2 4 8 ( 1 9 5 2 )

( c o n s t r u i n g c o n g r e s s i o n a l i n t e n t a s r e q u i r i n g p r o o f o f i n t e n t i n c o n v e r s i o n s t a t u t e ) ; U n i t e d

S t a t e s v

. X

- C i t e m e n t V

i d e o

, I n c

. , 5 1 3 U

. S

. 6 4

, 6 8 ( 1 9 9 4 ) ( c h i l d

- p o r n o g r a p h y s t a t u t e r e q u i r e s

k n o w l e d g e o f v i c t i m ’ s a g e ) ; S t a p l e s v

. U

n i t e d S t a t e s

, 5 1 1 U

. S

. 6 0 0

, 6 1 8 ( 1 9 9 4 ) ( g u n

r e g i s t r a t i o n s t a t u t e r e q u i r e s k n o w l e d g e o f t y p e o f g u n p o s s e s s e d )

. H e r e

, i n e x a m i n i n g t h e

f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e

, w e h a v e d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e L e g i s l a t u r e i n t e n d e d t o d i s p e n s e w i t h a

c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h e l i c e n s i n g a n d g o o d

- s t a n d i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s

. 1 4

T h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

, t h e r e f o r e

, d i d n o t e r r i n u p h o l d i n g t h e j u r y c h a r g e

, w h i c h

We express no opinion as to w hether there might be other due-pr ocess conce rns that could 1 4

become pertinent under differ ent circ umstances, such as an attorney licensed in Texas who had been

in g ood standing with the State Ba r and continued to prac tice law beca u s e h e had not rec eived

notification by the State Ba r reg arding his chang e in status. The prese nt case does not contain fac ts

that show that appellant had ever been in compliance with the State Ba r rules or that he was deprive d

of notice of a chang e in his status with the State Ba r. Fur thermore

, appellant does not challeng e the

co nstitut ionality of the false- lawy er statute. We do not rea ch the question of whether i t m ay b e

unconstitutional as applied to another defe ndant under differ ent circ umsta n ce s

. Fur thermore

, in

United St ates of America v. Ransom

, the Tenth Circuit observe d th at t h e S u p re m e C ourt has held

that, “[i] n order to show that the exercise of [t he L eg islature’s] power is inconsistent wi t h d ue

proce ss, [an] appellant must demonstrate that the prac tice adopted by the leg islature ‘off ends some

princi p l e o f j u s tice so rooted in the traditions and conscie nce of our people as to be ranke d as

fundame ntal.’” 942 F.2d 775, 777 (10th Cir. 1991) (citing Snyder v. Ma s s a ch u s et ts

, 291 U.S. 97

(1934))

.Celis - 18

i n s t r u c t e d o n l y a s t o t h e s t a t u t o r i l y p r e s c r i b e d m e n t a l s t a t e o f i n t e n t t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c

b e n e f i t

. S e e C e l i s

, 3 5 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 2 8

. W e o v e r r u l e a p p e l l a n t ’ s f i r s t i s s u e

.

I I I

. J u r y I n s t r u c t i o n o n M i s t a k e o f F a c t

I n h i s s e c o n d i s s u e

, a p p e l l a n t c o n t e n d s t h a t t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s e r r e d b y o v e r r u l i n g

h i s c h a l l e n g e t o t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s d e n i a l o f a m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t i n s t r u c t i o n

. I

d

. T h e c o u r t o f

a p p e a l s h e l d t h a t a p p e l l a n t ’ s a l l e g e d m i s t a k e d i d n o t n e g a t e t h e k i n d o f c u l p a b i l i t y r e q u i r e d

f o r c o m m i s s i o n o f t h e o f f e n s e a s s t a t u t o r i l y r e q u i r e d

. I d

. a t 2 9 ( c i t i n g T E X

. P E N A L C O D E §

8

. 0 2 ( a ) )

. T h a t m i s t a k e

, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

, m a y h a v e b e e n a m i s t a k e o f l a w

,

b u t a p p e l l a n t d i d n o t r e q u e s t t h a t t y p e o f i n s t r u c t i o n

. I d

.

A

. C u r r e n t L a w A p p l i c a b l e t o M i s t a k e

- o f

- F a c t D e f

e n s e

A d e f e n d a n t i s e n t i t l e d t o a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n a n y d e f e n s i v e i s s u e r a i s e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e

,

w h e t h e r t h a t e v i d e n c e i s w e a k o r s t r o n g

, u n i m p e a c h e d o r u n c o n t r a d i c t e d

, a n d r e g a r d l e s s o f

h o w t h e t r i a l c o u r t v i e w s t h e c r e d i b i l i t y o f t h e d e f e n s e

. A l l e n v

. S t a t e

, 2 5 3 S

. W

. 3 d 2 6 0

, 2 6 7

( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 0 8 )

. T h e s t a t u t e g o v e r n i n g t h e m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t d e f e n s e p r o v i d e s t h a t i t

i s “ a d e f e n s e t o p r o s e c u t i o n t h a t t h e a c t o r t h r o u g h m i s t a k e f o r m e d a r e a s o n a b l e b e l i e f a b o u t

a m a t t e r o f f

a c t i f h i s m i s t a k e n b e l i e f n e g a t e d t h e k i n d o f c u l p a b i l i t y r e q u i r e d f o r c o m m i s s i o n

o f t h e o f f e n s e

. ” T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 8

. 0 2 ( a )

. W h e n h e r a i s e s e v i d e n c e o f a m i s t a k e n b e l i e f

a s t o t h e c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e o f t h e o f f e n s e

, a d e f

e n d a n t i s e n t i t l e d t o a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n

m i s t a k e o f f

a c t u p o n r e q u e s t

. B e g

g s v

. S t a t e

, 5 9 7 S

. W

. 2 d 3 7 5

, 3 7 8 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 0 ) ;

G r a n g e r v

. S t a t e

, 3 S

. W

. 3 d 3 6

, 4 1 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 9 ) ; G i e s b e r g v

. S t a t e

, 9 8 4 S

. W

. 2 dCelis - 19

2 4 5

, 2 4 6 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 8 )

.

“ B y ‘ k i n d o f c u l p a b i l i t y ’ i s m e a n t ‘ c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

. ’ ” B e g g s

, 5 9 7 S

. W

. 2 d a t 3 7 8

.

I n B e g g s

, t h i s C o u r t d e t e r m i n e d t h a t B e g g s w a s e n t i t l e d t o a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n t h e d e f e n s e o f

m i s t a k e o f f

a c t i f t h e r e w a s e v i d e n c e t h a t

, t h r o u g h a m i s t a k e

, s h e f o r m e d a r e a s o n a b l e b e l i e f

a b o u t a m a t t e r o f f

a c t a n d h e r m i s t a k e n b e l i e f w o u l d n e g a t e h e r i n t e n t o r k n o w l e d g e

. I d

. T h e

i n s t r u c t i o n o n m i s t a k e o f f a c t

, t h e r e f

o r e

, a p p l i e s o n l y w i t h r e s p e c t t o e l e m e n t s t h a t r e q u i r e

p r o o f o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

. I d

.

S i n c e B e g

g s w a s d e c i d e d o v e r 3 0 y e a r s a g o

, t h i s C o u r t h a s a l w a y s a p p l i e d m i s t a k e o f

f a c t t o o n l y c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e s

. S e e M c Q u e e n

, 7 8 1 S

. W

. 2 d 6 0 0 ; W i l l i s v

. S t a t e

, 7 9 0

S

. W

. 2 d 3 0 7

, 3 1 4 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 0 ) ; M i l l e r v

. S t a t e

, 8 1 5 S

. W

. 2 d 5 8 2

, 5 8 5 ( T e x

. C r i m

.

A p p

. 1 9 9 1 ) ; G r a n g e r

, 3 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 1

. W e r e s p e c t f u l l y d i s a g r e e w i t h t h e s u g g e s t i o n i n t h e

c o n c u r r i n g o p i n i o n b y t h e H o n o r a b l e J u d g e C o c h r a n t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t

, i n T h o m p s o n v

. S t a t e

,

2 3 6 S

. W

. 3 d 7 8 7 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 0 7 )

, t h e C o u r t e x p a n d e d t h e B e g g s d e f i n i t i o n f o r “ k i n d

o f c u l p a b i l i t y ” s o t h a t i t w o u l d a p p l y t o e l e m e n t s t h a t d o n o t r e q u i r e p r o o f o f a c u l p a b l e

m e n t a l s t a t e

. S e e B e g

g s

, 5 9 7 S

. W

. 2 d a t 3 7 8

. I n T h o m p s o n

, t h e C o u r t d i s c u s s e d t h e h i s t o r y

o f t h e m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t i n s t r u c t i o n b y e x a m i n i n g t h e M o d e l P e n a l C o d e a n d t h e p r o p o s e d

r e v i s e d T e x a s P e n a l C o d e

, c o n c l u d i n g t h a t

, a l t h o u g h t h e s e c o d e s d i f f e r i n m a n y r e s p e c t s

,

c e r t a i n e l e m e n t s f

r o m b o t h c o d e s w e r e i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o o u r c u r r e n t l a w

. T h o m p s o n

, 2 3 6

S

. W

. 3 d a t 7 9 9

. M i s t a k e o f f a c t a s d e f

i n e d i n t h e M o d e l P e n a l C o d e w a s a p p l i e d t oCelis - 20

t r a n s f e r r e d

- i n t e n t s i t u a t i o n s b u t r e j e c t e d i n o t h e r r e s p e c t s

. T h o m p s o n e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e 1 5

p o r t i o n o f t h e M o d e l P e n a l C o d e t h a t b r o a d l y p e r m i t t e d a m i s t a k e o f f a c t t o n e g a t e “ t h e

p u r p o s e

, k n o w l e d g e

, b e l i e f

, r e c k l e s s n e s s

, o r n e g l i g e n c e r e q u i r e d t o e s t a b l i s h a m a t e r i a l

e l e m e n t o f t h e o f

f e n s e ” a n d t h a t d i d n o t r e q u i r e a m i s t a k e b e r e a s o n a b l e w a s r e j e c t e d b y t h e

d r a f t e r s o f t h e r e v i s e d T e x a s P e n a l C o d e

. I d

. a t 7 9 6

. I n s t e a d

, t h e d r a f t e r s s u g g e s t e d a

“ p r o p o s e d c o d e [ t h a t ] l i m i t e d t h e m i s t a k e o f f a c t d e f e n s e t o s i t u a t i o n s t h a t n e g a t e d t h e

c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e r e q u i r e d f o r t h e o f f e n s e

. ” I d

. a t 7 9 8

. F u r t h e r m o r e

, “ t h e d r a f t e r s o f t h e

p r o p o s e d p e n a l c o d e v i e w e d t h e m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t d e f e n s e a s e s s e n t i a l l y r e d u n d a n t o f t h e

The lawon mistake of fac t a s it a pplies in the context of transfe rre d intent is unaffe cted by 1 5

this decis i o n b eca

use of its differ ent historical orig ins. I n Thompson

, the Court held that an

instruction on mistake of fac t is war rante d when a jury may convict under a statutory provision that

permits the transfe r of a culpable mental state by providing that a person is never theless criminally

responsible for causing a result if the only differ ence betwee n what ac tually occur red a nd what he

desired, contemplated, or risked is that a differ ent offe nse was committed. Thompson v. State

, 236

S.W .3d 787, 800 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007); see also Louis v. State

, 393 S.W .3d 246 (Tex. Crim. App.

2012). The mis t ak e m u s t b e rea sonable for it to constitute a circ umstance that exculpates the

defe ndant of the offe nse char g ed and the defe ndant would be g uilty of any lesser- included offe nse

that would be applicable if the fac ts wer e as the defe ndant believed. Thompson

, 236 S.W .3d at 800.

The Court deter

mined that this portion of the curr ent penal code stems from the Model Penal Code,

which had stated, “‘A lthough ignor ance or mistake would otherwise aff ord a defe nse to the offe nse

char g ed, the defe nse i s n o t available if the defe ndant would be g uilty of another offe nse had the

situation been as he supposed. I n such c as e, h o we v er

, the defendant’s ignora nce or mistake shall

reduc e the g rade and deg ree of the offe nse of which he may be convicted to those of the offe nse of

which he would be g uilty had the situation been as he supposed.’” Id

. at 796 (quoting M O D E L P E N A L

C O D E A N D C O M M E N T A R I E S

, § 2.04(1)( a) & (2), p. 267) (empha sis deleted)

. We have also deter mined

that the failure to g ive a mistake-of- fac t instruct i o n can be harmful err or in the context of a

transfe rre d-intent situation. See Louis

, 393 S.W .3d at 254. I n Louis v. State

, we reje cted the State’s

arg ument t h at the failure to submit a mistake-of- fac t instruction “‘tha t mere ly denied the char g ed

offe nse’ is never harmful.” Id. We applied the “some harm” standard and explained that the “fa ilure

to instruct the jury on the defe nse of mistake of fac t was an impediment to [L ouis’s] ability to prese nt

his de fense that he did not have the requisite mens rea to be found g uilty and to a rg ue that defe nse

to the jury .” Id

. We als o n o t ed t h at the “[l] ack of the reque sted instruction eff ectively preve nted

[L ouis] from pre senting his defense . . . .” Id

.Celis - 21

r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t t h e S t a t e p r o v e t h e m e n t a l e l e m e n t o f a n o f f e n s e

, b u t t h e y i n c l u d e d t h e

d e f e n s e a s a m e t h o d o f p l a c i n g u p o n t h e d e f e n d a n t ‘ t h e b u r d e n o f p r o d u c i n g e v i d e n c e ’ s o

t h a t a m i s t a k e o f f

a c t i s s o m e t h i n g ‘ t h e p r o s e c u t i o n d o e s n o t h a v e t o n e g a t e u n l e s s r a i s e d

. ’ ”

I d

. a t 7 9 9

. T o d a y

, w e r e a f f i r m o u r c o n c l u s i o n i n T

h o m p s o n t h a t

, i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e i n t e n t

o f t h e d r a f

t e r s o f t h e T e x a s P e n a l C o d e

, a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n m i s t a k e o f f a c t i s l i m i t e d t o a n y

c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e r e q u i r e d f o r t h e o f f e n s e

. I d

. a t 7 9 8

.

B

. A b a n d o n e d L a w S h o u l d R e m a i n i n t h e D i s t a n t P a s t

J u d g e C o c h r a n p r i m a r i l y r e l i e s o n l a w t h a t i s o v e r a c e n t u r y o l d t o s u g g e s t t h a t w e

s h o u l d a b a n d o n o u r p r e c e d e n t o f t h e l a s t 3 0 y e a r s i n f a v o r o f t h e l a w a s i t e x i s t e d i n t h e

d i s t a n t p a s t

. H e r s u g g e s t i o n t h a t m i s t a k e o f f a c t s h o u l d a p p l y t o a d d i t i o n a l e l e m e n t s b e y o n d

t h e d e f e n d a n t ’ s c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e w o u l d a l t e r p r a c t i c a l l y e v e r y o f f e n s e i n t h e T e x a s P e n a l

C o d e i n a w a y t h a t h a s n o t b e e n r e c o g n i z e d i n T e x a s f o r o v e r 3 0 y e a r s

. S h e d e s c r i b e s h e r

“ p r a c t i c a l t e s t f

o r w h e t h e r a d e f

e n d a n t i s e n t i t l e d t o a m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t d e f e n s e ” b y a s k i n g

, “ I f

t h e f a c t s w e r e a s t h e d e f

e n d a n t m i s t a k e n l y b e l i e v e d t h e m

, w o u l d h e b e i n n o c e n t o f t h e

c h a r g e d o f

f e n s e ? ” U n d e r t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

, a j u r y w o u l d b e i n s t r u c t e d t o a c q u i t a d e f e n d a n t

w h o h a d a r e a s o n a b l e b u t m i s t a k e n b e l i e f a b o u t a n y e l e m e n t i n a n o f f e n s e

, e v e n t h o s e

e l e m e n t s t h a t d o n o t r e q u i r e p r o o f o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

. U n d e r t h i s a p p r o a c h

, i f a

d e f e n d a n t c h a r g e d w i t h a g g r a v a t e d r o b b e r y o f a p e r s o n 6 5 y e a r s o f a g e o r o l d e r p r o d u c e d

e v i d e n c e t h a t h e b e l i e v e d t h e p e r s o n w a s 6 4 y e a r s o f a g e

, t h e n t h e j u r o r s w o u l d b e i n s t r u c t e d

t o a c q u i t h i m o f a g g r a v a t e d r o b b e r y i f t h e y b e l i e v e d h e w a s r e a s o n a b l y m i s t a k e n a s t o t h a tCelis - 22

f a c t

. S e e i d

. § 2 9

. 0 3

. S i m i l a r l y

, w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e s t a t u t e d e f i n i n g t h e o f

f e n s e o f f e l o n y

m u r d e r

, w h i c h d i s p e n s e s w i t h a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

, J u d g e C o c h r a n ’ s a p p r o a c h w o u l d h a v e

r e q u i r e d a c q u i t t a l i f a d e f e n d a n t h a d a m i s t a k e n a n d r e a s o n a b l e b e l i e f t h a t h e w a s n o t

c o m m i t t i n g a n a c t c l e a r l y d a n g e r o u s t o h u m a n l i f e

. S e e L o m a x

, 2 3 3 S

. W

. 3 d a t 3 0 4

( c o n s t r u i n g T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 1 9

. 0 2 ( b ) ( 3 ) )

. F u r t h e r m o r e

, w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e o f f e n s e o f

c h i l d a b a n d o n m e n t

, t h e C o u r t h a s h e l d t h a t t h e r e i s n o c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a s t o t h e

s u r r o u n d i n g

- c i r c u m s t a n c e s e l e m e n t

, b u t J u d g e C o c h r a n ’ s a p p r o a c h w o u l d r e q u i r e a c q u i t t a l

i f a d e f e n d a n t h a d a m i s t a k e n a n d r e a s o n a b l e b e l i e f a b o u t t h e s u r r o u n d i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s

. S e e

S c h u l t z v

. S t a t e

, 9 2 3 S

. W

. 2 d 1

, 4 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 6 ) ( c o n s t r u i n g T E X

. P E N A L C O D E §

2 2

. 0 4 1 ( b ) )

. T h e e x a m p l e s a r e e n d l e s s

.

P e r h a p s t h e r e m a y b e a n i n s t a n c e i n w h i c h a s t a t u t e i s u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a s a p p l i e d t o

a d e f e n d a n t b e c a u s e a j u r y i s n o t p e r m i t t e d t o c o n s i d e r h i s m i s t a k e n

, r e a s o n a b l e b e l i e f a b o u t

a m a t t e r

, b u t t h a t s i t u a t i o n i s n o t b e f o r e u s h e r e : a p p e l l a n t h a s n o t c h a l l e n g e d t h e

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f t h i s s t a t u t e

, a n d

, a s J u d g e C o c h r a n a g r e e s

, t h e s e f a c t s d o n o t s u p p o r t h i s

a p p e l l a t e c l a i m p e r t a i n i n g t o m i s t a k e o f f a c t

. S e e L a m b e r t v

. C a l i f o r n i a

, 3 5 5 U

. S

. 2 2 5

, 2 2 9

( 1 9 5 7 ) ( s t r i k i n g d o w n r e g i s t r a t i o n o r d i n a n c e t h a t d i d n o t r e q u i r e p r o o f o f m e n t a l s t a t e o f

d u t y- t o

- r e g i s t e r e l e m e n t a s d u e

- p r o c e s s v i o l a t i o n )

. I t w o u l d s e e m i m p r o v i d e n t t o a b a n d o n t h i s

C o u r t ’ s d e c a d e s

- o l d p r e c e d e n t i n t h e p r e s e n t c a s e

, i n w h i c h n o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l v i o l a t i o n h a s

b e e n a l l e g e d a n d w h i c h p r e s e n t s n o e r r o r i n t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s f a i l u r e t o i n c l u d e a n i n s t r u c t i o n

o n m i s t a k e o f f

a c t

. W e s h o u l d n o t a b a n d o n p r e c e d e n t b a s e d o n n o n

- b i n d i n g d i c t a

. S e eCelis - 23

W o o l r i d g e

, 8 2 7 S

. W

. 2 d a t 9 0 5

. N o t h i n g i n t h i s c a s e c o m p e l s u s t o a b a n d o n t h e p r e c e d e n t o f

t h e p a s t 3 0 y e a r s

.

C

. A p p e l l a n t N o t E n t i t l e d t o M i s t a k e

- o f

- F a c t I n s t r u c t i o n

A p p e l l a n t ’ s a l l e g e d m i s t a k e n b e l i e f w a s t h a t h e w a s l i c e n s e d a n d i n g o o d s t a n d i n g t o

p r a c t i c e l a w i n M e x i c o

. W e h a v e d e t e r m i n e d

, h o w e v e r

, t h a t t h e o n l y c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e

s e t f o r t h i n t h e f

a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e i s i n t e n t t o o b t a i n a n e c o n o m i c b e n e f i t

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L

C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2 ( a )

. B e c a u s e t h a t s t a t u t e d o e s n o t r e q u i r e p r o o f o f a c u l p a b l e m e n t a l s t a t e a s

t o t h e l i c e n s i n g o r g o o d

- s t a n d i n g e l e m e n t s

, t h e m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t i n s t r u c t i o n a p p e l l a n t s o u g h t

d i d n o t n e g a t e t h e k i n d o f c u l p a b i l i t y r e q u i r e d f o r t h e o f f e n s e

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E §

8

. 0 2 ( a ) ; G r a n g e r

, 3 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 1 ; s e e a l s o M u r c h i s o n v

. S t a t e

, 9 3 S

. W

. 3 d 2 3 9

, 2 5 2 ( T e x

.

A p p

. — H o u s t o n [ 1 4 t h D i s t

. ] 2 0 0 2

, p e t

. r e f ’ d ) ( a p p e l l a n t n o t e n t i t l e d t o m i s t a k e

- o f

- f a c t

i n s t r u c t i o n b e c a u s e h i s a l l e g e d m i s t a k e d i d n o t n e g a t e c u l p a b i l i t y r e q u i r e d b y s t a t u t e ) ; G a n t

v

. S t a t e

, 8 1 4 S

. W

. 2 d 4 4 4

, 4 5 3 ( T e x

. A p p

. — A u s t i n 1 9 9 1

, n o p e t

. ) ( s a m e )

. T h e c o u r t o f

a p p e a l s d i d n o t e r r

, t h e r e f o r e

, i n u p h o l d i n g t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s d e n i a l o f a p p e l l a n t ’ s r e q u e s t e d

c h a r g e

. C e l i s

, 3 5 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 2 9

. W e o v e r r u l e a p p e l l a n t ’ s s e c o n d i s s u e

.

I V

. J u r y I n s t r u c t i o n O n “ F o r e i g n L e g a l C o n s u l t a n t ”

I n h i s t h i r d i s s u e

, a p p e l l a n t a r g u e s t h a t t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s e r r e d i n u p h o l d i n g t h e j u r y

i n s t r u c t i o n t h a t i n c l u d e d “ f o r e i g n l e g a l c o n s u l t a n t ” a s a d e f i n i t i o n o f “ g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e

S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s ” u n d e r t h e f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e

. I

d

. a t 3 1

. H e c o n t e n d s t h a t t h i s i n s t r u c t i o n

c o n s t i t u t e d a n i m p r o p e r c o m m e n t o n t h e w e i g h t o f t h e e v i d e n c e i n v i o l a t i o n o f T e x a s C o d eCelis - 24

o f C r i m i n a l P r o c e d u r e A r t i c l e 3 6

. 1 4

. S e e T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 6

. 1 4 ( p r o h i b i t i n g

j u d i c i a l c o m m e n t s o n w e i g h t o f e v i d e n c e )

. H e c o n t e n d e d t h a t t h e d e f i n i t i o n s h o u l d b e l i m i t e d

t o t h e d e f

i n i t i o n o f “ m e m b e r i n g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s ” p r o v i d e d i n t h e

S t a t e B a r R u l e s

. S e e T E X

. S T A T E B A R R U LE S a r t

. 1

, § 6

. D i s a g r e e i n g

, t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e d e f

i n i t i o n o f “ f

o r e i g n l e g a l c o n s u l t a n t ” i s s e t f o r t h i n t h e R u l e s G o v e r n i n g

A d m i s s i o n t o t h e B a r o f T e x a s

, w h i c h t h e c o u r t h e l d i s t h e d e f i n i t i o n i n t h e S t a t e B a r R u l e s

f o r “ g o o d s t a n d i n g ” a s i t a p p l i e d t o t h i s c a s e

. C e l i s

, 3 5 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 3 0

- 3 1 ( c i t i n g R U LE S

G O V E R N IN G A D M IS S IO N T O T H E B A R O F T E X

. R u l e X I V )

. W e a g r e e

.

A

. L a w A p p l i c a b l e t o J u r y I n s t r u c t i o n s

T h e t r i a l c o u r t m u s t g i v e t h e j u r y a w r i t t e n c h a r g e “ s e t t i n g f o r t h t h e l a w a p p l i c a b l e t o

t h e c a s e ; n o t e x p r e s s i n g a n y o p i n i o n a s t o t h e w e i g h t o f t h e e v i d e n c e

, n o t s u m m i n g u p t h e

t e s t i m o n y

, d i s c u s s i n g t h e f a c t s o r u s i n g a n y a r g u m e n t i n h i s c h a r g e c a l c u l a t e d t o a r o u s e t h e

s y m p a t h y o r e x c i t e t h e p a s s i o n s o f t h e j u r y

. ” T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 6

. 1 4

. W e h a v e

h e l d t h a t

, i f a j u r y i n s t r u c t i o n i s d e r i v e d f r o m t h e p e n a l c o d e

, i t i s g e n e r a l l y p e r m i t t e d b e c a u s e

i t i s t h e a p p l i c a b l e s t a t u t e a n d

, t h e r e f o r e

, t h e “ a p p l i c a b l e l a w

, ” a s r e q u i r e d b y A r t i c l e 3 6

. 1 4

.

K i r s c h

, 3 5 7 S

. W

. 3 d a t 6 5 1

.

U n l e s s s t a t u t o r i l y p e r m i t t e d

, a t r i a l c o u r t m a y n o t c o m m e n t o n t h e w e i g h t o f t h e

e v i d e n c e

. I

d

. a t 6 5 1

- 5 2

. N o n

- s t a t u t o r y i n s t r u c t i o n s

, e v e n w h e n t h e y a r e n e u t r a l a n d r e l a t e t o

s t a t u t o r y o f

f e n s e s o r d e f

e n s e s

, g e n e r a l l y h a v e n o p l a c e i n t h e c h a r g e

. I d

. a t 6 5 2

.Celis - 25

M o r e s p e c i f

i c a l l y

, t h e t r i a l c o u r t m a y i n s t r u c t o n t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f c e r t a i n t e r m s b u t n o t

o t h e r s

. I t m u s t i n s t r u c t o n s t a t u t o r i l y d e f i n e d t e r m s a s t h e l a w a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e c a s e

. S e e

T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 6

. 1 4

. B y c o n t r a s t

, i t i s g e n e r a l l y i m p e r m i s s i b l e t o i n s t r u c t o n

t e r m s n o t s t a t u t o r i l y d e f i n e d

, a n d t h e t r i a l c o u r t i n s t e a d m u s t p e r m i t t h e j u r y t o c o n s t r u e t h e m

a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r u l e s o f g r a m m a r a n d c o m m o n u s a g e

. S e e T E X

. G O V ’ T C O D E § 3 1 1

. 0 1 1 ;

K i r s c h

, 3 5 7 S

. W

. 3 d a t 6 5 0

. H o w e v e r

, a t r i a l c o u r t m a y d e f i n e a s t a t u t o r i l y u n d e f

i n e d t e r m

t h a t h a s a n e s t a b l i s h e d l e g a l d e f i n i t i o n o r t h a t h a s a c q u i r e d a t e c h n i c a l m e a n i n g t h a t d e v i a t e s

f r o m i t s m e a n i n g i n c o m m o n p a r l a n c e

. S e e M e d f o r d v

. S t a t e

, 1 3 S

. W

. 3 d 7 6 9

, 7 7 1

- 7 2 ( T e x

.

C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 0 0 ) ( p r o p e r t o i n s t r u c t j u r y o n d e f i n i t i o n o f “ a r r e s t ” b e c a u s e i t i s “ a t e c h n i c a l

t e r m p o s s e s s i n g a l o n g

, e s t a b l i s h e d h i s t o r y i n t h e c o m m o n l a w

, a n d i t w o u l d b e i n a p p r o p r i a t e

i f j u r o r s a r b i t r a r i l y a p p l i e d t h e i r p e r s o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s o f a r r e s t ” ) ; s e e a l s o T E X

. G O V ’ T C O D E

§ 3 1 1

. 0 1 1 ( b ) ( “ W o r d s a n d p h r a s e s t h a t h a v e a c q u i r e d a t e c h n i c a l o r p a r t i c u l a r m e a n i n g

. . .

s h a l l b e c o n s t r u e d a c c o r d i n g l y

. ” )

.

A p p e l l a n t c o r r e c t l y o b s e r v e s t h a t t h e t e r m “ i n g o o d s t a n d i n g ” i s n o t d e f i n e d i n t h e

f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t

, t h e r e f o r e

, s h o u l d n o t

h a v e d e f i n e d i t i n t h e j u r y c h a r g e u n l e s s i t h a s a n e s t a b l i s h e d l e g a l d e f i n i t i o n o r h a s a c q u i r e d

a t e c h n i c a l m e a n i n g

. S e e K i r s c h

, 3 5 7 S

. W

. 3 d a t 6 5 0 ; M e d f o r d

, 1 3 S

. W

. 3 d a t 7 7 1

- 7 2

. I t h a s

.

T h e t e r m “ i n g o o d s t a n d i n g ” i s a t e c h n i c a l t e r m b e c a u s e i t h a s “ a c q u i r e d a p e c u l i a r a n d

a p p r o p r i a t e m e a n i n g i n t h e l a w ” a n d m a y n o t b e c o n s t r u e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t r a d i t i o n a l r u l e s

o f g r a m m a r a n d c o m m o n u s a g e

. M e d f o r d

, 1 3 S

. W

. 3 d a t 7 7 2

. T h e i n s t r u c t i o n o n t h eCelis - 26

d e f i n i t i o n o f t h a t t e r m

, t h e r e f o r e

, w a s n o t a c o m m e n t o n t h e w e i g h t o f t h e e v i d e n c e

. S e e T E X

.

C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 6

. 1 4

.

A p p e l l a n t

, h o w e v e r

, a l s o c h a l l e n g e s t h e a c c u r a c y o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n p r o v i d e d b y t h e

j u r y i n s t r u c t i o n s

. B e c a u s e t h e f a l s e

- l a w y e r s t a t u t e d o e s n o t p r o v i d e a d e f i n i t i o n o f t h a t t e r m

,

w e m u s t l o o k b e y o n d t h a t s t a t u t e t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r t h e d e f i n i t i o n i n c l u d e d i n t h e c h a r g e

w a s e r r o n e o u s

.

B

. I n s t r u c t i o n s P r o p e r l y D e f i n e d T e r m

T h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s c h a r g e i n s t r u c t e d t h e j u r o r s t h a t t h e y c o u l d f i n d t h a t a p p e l l a n t w a s

i n g o o d s t a n d i n g u n d e r t h e s t a t u t e i f t h e y f o u n d t h a t h e w a s “ c e r t i f i e d t o p r a c t i c e i n T e x a s a s

a F o r e i g n L e g a l C o n s u l t a n t b y t h e T e x a s B o a r d o f L a w E x a m i n e r s

, ” w h i c h i t d e f i n e d a s

“ s o m e o n e c e r t i f

i e d u n d e r t h e R u l e s o f

t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o f T e x a s g o v e r n i n g a d m i s s i o n t o

t h e B a r o f T e x a s

, a n d w h o i s c o n s i d e r e d a l a w y e r a f f i l i a t e d w i t h t h e B a r o f T e x a s

. ” A p p e l l a n t

c o n t e n d s t h a t t h i s w a s e r r o r b e c a u s e i t e x c e e d e d t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f “ a m e m b e r i n g o o d

s t a n d i n g ” s e t f

o r t h i n t h e S t a t e B a r R u l e s a n d

, t h e r e f o r e

, c o n s t i t u t e d a c o m m e n t o n t h e w e i g h t

o f t h e e v i d e n c e

. S e e T E X

. S T A T E B A R R U LE S a r t

. 1

, § 6

.

T h e d e f i n i t i o n i n t h e S t a t e B a r R u l e s d e f i n e s “ m e m b e r i n g o o d s t a n d i n g ” a s t h a t t e r m

a p p l i e s t o p e o p l e w h o a r e m e m b e r s o f t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s

, b u t t h i s d e f i n i t i o n w a s

i n a p p l i c a b l e b e c a u s e a p p e l l a n t n e v e r c l a i m e d t o b e a m e m b e r o f t h e T e x a s B a r

. T h e S t a t e

B a r R u l e s d e f

i n e a “ m e m b e r i n g o o d s t a n d i n g ” a s “ s o m e o n e w h o m e e t s a n d c o m p l i e s w i t h

a l l a p p l i c a b l e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e R u l e s o f t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o f T e x a s g o v e r n i n g a d m i s s i o nCelis - 27

t o t h e b a r o f T e x a s

, a n d w h o i s n o t i n d e f a u l t o f p a y m e n t o f d u e s a n d w h o i s n o t u n d e r

s u s p e n s i o n f

r o m p r a c t i c e

. ” I

d

. B e c a u s e a p p e l l a n t d o e s n o t c o n t e n d t h a t h e i s a m e m b e r o f t h e

S t a t e B a r

, t h e t r i a l c o u r t c o r r e c t l y d e c l i n e d t o l i m i t i t s i n s t r u c t i o n t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f “ a

m e m b e r i n g o o d s t a n d i n g

. ”

A l t h o u g h a p p e l l a n t w a s n o t a m e m b e r o f t h e T e x a s B a r

, h e c o u l d p r a c t i c e l a w i n

T e x a s i f

, a m o n g o t h e r r e q u i r e m e n t s

, h e w a s “ i n g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r o f T e x a s

. ”

T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. I n t h e R u l e s G o v e r n i n g A d m i s s i o n t o t h e B a r o f T e x a s

, R u l e

X I V s e t s f

o r t h r e q u i r e m e n t s f

o r t h e p r a c t i c e o f l a w i n T e x a s b y a p e r s o n l i c e n s e d i n a f o r e i g n

j u r i s d i c t i o n

. S e e R U LE S G O V E R N IN G A D M IS S IO N T O T H E B A R O F T E X

. R u l e X I V

. T h a t R u l e

i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e “ C o u r t m a y c e r t i f y t o p r a c t i c e i n T e x a s a s a l e g a l c o n s u l t a n t

. . . a m e m b e r

i n g o o d s t a n d i n g o f a r e c o g n i z e d l e g a l p r o f e s s i o n i n a f

o r e i g n c o u n t r y ” a n d t h a t s u c h a p e r s o n

( 1 ) “ m a y r e n d e r l e g a l s e r v i c e s i n T e x a s i n t h e m a n n e r a n d t o t h e e x t e n t p e r m i t t e d b y t h e

j u r i s d i c t i o n i n w h i c h s u c h p e r s o n i s a d m i t t e d t o p r a c t i c e

, ” a n d ( 2 ) i s “ c o n s i d e r e d a l a w y e r

a f f i l i a t e d w i t h t h e B a r o f T e x a s

. . . . ” I d

. a t § § 1 ( a )

, 3

, 4

. T h e D i r e c t o r o f E l i g i b i l i t y a n d

E x a m i n a t i o n f

o r t h e T e x a s B o a r d o f L a w E x a m i n e r s t e s t i f i e d t h a t a p e r s o n m e e t i n g t h i s

c r i t e r i a w a s c o n s i d e r e d t o b e i n g o o d s t a n d i n g w i t h t h e S t a t e B a r

. T h e r e f o r e

, t h e i n s t r u c t i o n

p r o v i d e d a l e g a l l y c o r r e c t d e f i n i t i o n o f “ g o o d s t a n d i n g ” u n d e r t h e R u l e s a n d

, b e c a u s e r a i s e d

b y t h e e v i d e n c e

, w a s t h e l a w a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e c a s e

. S e e i d

. ; T E X

. C O D E C R I M

. P R O C

. a r t

.

3 6

. 1 4

.Celis - 28

W e h o l d t h a t t h e c h a r g e p r o p e r l y i n s t r u c t e d t h e j u r y a s t o t h e “ f o r e i g n l e g a l

c o n s u l t a n t ” c r i t e r i a w i t h i n t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f “ i n g o o d s t a n d i n g

. ” I n f a c t

, b e c a u s e a p p e l l a n t

c l a i m e d a t t r i a l t h a t h e b e l i e v e d h e w a s l i c e n s e d i n M e x i c o a n d n o t t h a t h e b e l i e v e d h e w a s

l i c e n s e d i n T e x a s

, t h i s w a s t h e o n l y w a y i n w h i c h t h e j u r y c o u l d h a v e f o u n d t h a t h e w a s “ i n

g o o d s t a n d i n g ” u n d e r t h e s t a t u t e

. S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 3 8

. 1 2 2

. T h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s d i d

n o t e r r

, t h e r e f

o r e

, i n u p h o l d i n g t h i s i n s t r u c t i o n

. C e l i s

, 3 5 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 3 0

- 3 1

. W e o v e r r u l e

a p p e l l a n t ’ s t h i r d i s s u e

.

V

. C o n c l u s i o n

W e c o n c l u d e t h a t a p p e l l a n t h a s f a i l e d t o s h o w e r r o r i n t h e j u r y c h a r g e

. W e a f f i r m t h e

j u d g m e n t o f t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

.

D e l i v e r e d : M a y 1 5

, 2 0 1 3

P u b l i s h