Case Name: NICHOLSON v. STATE
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1928-05-23
Citations: 7 S.W.2d 1075
Docket Number: No. 11794
Parties: NICHOLSON v. STATE.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 7
Pages: 1075–1076

Head Matter:
NICHOLSON v. STATE.
(No. 11794.)
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
May 23, 1928.
Rehearing Denied June 23, 1928.
D. R. Pendleton and Gentry & Gray, all of Tyler, for appellant.
A. A. Dawson, State’s Atty., of Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
LATTIMORE, J.
Conviction for driving an automobile on a public road while in-, toxicated; punishment, a fine of $50 and confinement in the county jail for 60 days.
This is a felony case; the punishment being confinement in the penitentiary, or, in the alternative, a fine. Article 47, P. C. 1925. It is uniformly held that, to give this court jurisdiction upon appeal in a felony case, the transcript must show that sentence was pronounced. No sentence appears in the record in this case.
The state's attorney calls attention to the fact that the recognizance in this case is fatally defective. The form for a recognizance in felony cases is laid down in article 817, C. C. P. 1925. It is recited in the recognizance herein that appellant is charged with the offense of "unlawfully operating á motor vehicle while intoxicated." We have no law forbidding one, in terms, from operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. In order to be within the prohibition of the statute, the accused must drive or operate such motor vehicle on a public highway while intoxicated. The contention of our state's attorney is sustained. The recognizance is fatally defective.
The appeal will be dismissed.