Case Name: Osvaldo Rivera SUAREZ, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1976-01-21
Citations: 532 S.W.2d 602
Docket Number: No. 51096
Parties: Osvaldo Rivera SUAREZ, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 532
Pages: 602–606

Head Matter:
Osvaldo Rivera SUAREZ, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 51096.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
Jan. 21, 1976.
See also Tex.Cr.App., 532 S.W.2d 606.
Percy Foreman and Dick DeGuerin, Houston, for appellant.
Carol S. Vance, Dist. Atty., Phyllis Bell and Gerard Guerinot, Asst. Dist. Attys., Houston, Jim D. Vollers, State’s Atty., and David S. McAngus, Asst. State’s Atty., Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
OPINION
DALLY, Commissioner.
This is an appeal from a conviction for the offense of delivery of marihuana. After the appellant waived a jury trial, entered a plea of guilty, and was found guilty, the court assessed appellant's punishment at imprisonment for 5 years.
We have in this appeal a question of the sufficiency of the indictment. The indictment alleged in the first count that the appellant "on or about March 27, 1974, did then and there unlawfully, knowingly and intentionally, deliver to Tom Garner marihuana." The second count of the indictment alleged that the appellant possessed on the same day a usable quantity of marihuana of more than four ounces. However, the State dismissed and abandoned the second count of the indictment.
This prosecution is under Section 4.05 of the Controlled Substances Act (Art. 4476-15, V.A.C.S.), which in part provides:
"(d) Except as otherwise provided by this Act, a person commits an offense if he knowingly or intentionally delivers marihuana.
"(e) Except as provided in Subsection (f) of this section, an offense under Subsec tion (d) of this section is a felony of the third degree.
"(f) An offense under Subsection (d) is a Class B misdemeanor if the actor delivers one-fourth ounce or less without receiving remuneration."
The proper interpretation of these statutory provisions is that (1) delivery of more than one-fourth ounce of marihuana is a felony of the third degree regardless of whether the delivery was for remuneration; (2)the delivery of any amount of marihuana for remuneration is a felony of the third degree; and (3) the delivery of less than one-fourth ounce of marihuana without remuneration is a Class B misdemeanor. Gonzales v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 530 S.W.2d 570 (Nos. 51,166 and 51,167, delivered December 10, 1975).
Since the indictment in this case failed to allege the quantity of marihuana delivered or whether the delivery was for remuneration, it does not allege a felony offense. See Wilson v. State, 520 S.W.2d 377 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); Mears v. State, 520 S.W.2d 380 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); Medrano v. State, 524 S.W.2d 719 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); Tribble v. State, 525 S.W.2d 29 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); Wirges v. State, 521 S.W.2d 251 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); Saunders v. State, 528 S.W.2d 843 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); Finley v. State, 528 S.W.2d 854 (Tex.Cr.App.1975).
In the cases just cited the indictments failed to allege that the delivery of marihuana was for remuneration and failed to allege that the delivery was of more than one-fourth ounce. These indictments were held to be fundamentally defective and the prosecution was ordered dismissed. We reaffirm the holding of these cases except that we have now concluded and hold that an indictment which fails to allege the quantity of marihuana delivered or that it was delivered for remuneration alleges an offense punishable as a Class B misdemeaner. The proper disposition of this ease requires that we reverse the judgment of conviction for the felony offense and we remand the cause to the trial court to be transferred to a court having jurisdiction of the misdemeanor offense of the delivery of marihuana. Article V, Section 17, Texas Constitution; Article 21.26, V.A.C.C.P.
The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded for disposition consistent with this opinion.
Opinion approved by the Court.
. Nothing herein precludes re-indictment consistent herewith.