Case Name: Mrs. G. R. Wright v. State
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1959-06-10
Citations: 168 Tex. Crim. 214
Docket Number: No. 30,809
Parties: Mrs. G. R. Wright v. State.
Judges: 
Reporter: Texas Criminal Reports
Volume: 168
Pages: 214–215

Head Matter:
Mrs. G. R. Wright v. State.
No. 30,809.
June 10, 1959.
No attorney for appellant of record on appeal.
Leon Douglas, State’s Attorney, Austin, for the state.

Opinion:
DICE, Judge.
The conviction is under Art. 567b, V.A.P.C. for the giving of a worthless check in the amount of $15.00, with punishment assessed at 30 days in jail and a fine of $25.00.
The complaint upon which the information is based fails to allege that the check was given with intent to defraud. The intent to defraud is an essential element of the offense. Art. 567b, Sec. 1, supra; Kuykendall v. State, 143 Texas Cr. Rep. 607, 160 S.W. 2d 525. Being an essential element of the offense, such intent should have been alleged in the complaint. Browder v. State, 163 Texas Cr. Rep. 375, 292 S.W. 2d 342, and McCormick v. State, Cause No. 30,550, (page 60, this volume), 323 S.W. 2d 462.
A valid complaint is a prerequisite to a valid information. Addison v. State, 283 S.W. 2d 55.
The judgment is reversed and the prosecution is ordered dismissed.
Opinion approved by the Court.