Case Name: SMITH v. STATE
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1931-05-27
Citations: 39 S.W.2d 53
Docket Number: No. 13783
Parties: SMITH v. STATE.
Judges: 
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 39
Pages: 53–53

Head Matter:
SMITH v. STATE.
No. 13783.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
May 27, 1931.
E. A. Landman, of Athens, for appellant.
Lloyd W. Davidson, State’s Atty., of Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
CALHOUN, J.
Appellant was convicted under the provisions of chapter 195, Acts of the Regular Session, Eorty-First Legislature, which seeks to amend article 602, P. C. 1925 (Vernon's Ann. P. C. art. 602), making .penal the act of deserting a wife or minor child or children. The punishment was assessed at confinement in the penitentiary for eighteen months.
In Ex parte Heartsill, 38 S.W.(2d) 803, delivered May 6, 1931, this court held that the amendatory act was void, in that it went beyond the express limitation of its caption. We quote the language of Judge Lattimore in the opinion as follows: "The caption of the amendatory act as passed restricted the purpose of the bill to one single change, i. e., a change in the penalty for the offense. The framers of the bill thus informed the public and their fellow legislators that the purpose of the bill was to make a felony of that which theretofore had been a misdemeanor. In the body of the. bill substantial changes were made in the definition of the offense. The bill thus went beyond the express limitation of its caption, and under our Constitution and authorities this destroyed its effectiveness as a law."
The prosecution and conviction herein being under the amendatory act,- it becomes our duty to order a reversal of the judgment.
The judgment is reversed, and cause remanded.
PER CURIAM.
The foregoing opinion of the Commission of Appeals has been examined by the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals and approved by the court.