Court Opinion

ID: 9678973
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 06:37:29.321212+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:09.159772
License: Public Domain

DOUGLAS, Judge
(dissenting).
The majority sets aside the convictions in three cases for the offense of robbery after appellant had entered pleas of guilty and was assessed a punishment of twenty-five years in each case. These cases were affirmed by this Court after counsel had filed a brief that the appeals were frivolous. Counsel was correct in his evaluation of the cases.
Article 1408 of the former penal code under which appellant is convicted provides that one who takes from the possession of another property with intent to appropriate it shall be guilty of the offense of robbery. Article 21.08, V.A.C.C.P., provides that where one person owns property and another person has possession of the same the ownership may be alleged in either.
In the present cases the ownership was alleged in the person who possessed the property. In Clark v. State, 527 S.W.2d 527 (Tex.Cr.App.1975), this Court wrote:
“It is only where the victim of the assault has no right to possession whatsoever that a charge of robbery may not be sustained.”
The trial court followed the then Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. A majority of this Court has added an element to the offense of robbery in requiring an allegation that an owner must be named *181in the indictment as well as the one who possessed the property taken in the robbery. Several cases have been reversed because this new element has been enacted by a majority of this Court. Reversals are not enough for the majority. Now it is setting aside final convictions after they have been affirmed by this Court.
Jones entered pleas of guilty to robbery. He knew he was charged with robbery. He was proved to be guilty of robbery. He did not question the indictment, probably for the reason that it was good under the statutes. Now a majority releases Jones on something not required by the statute. The majority has acted as the Legislature and also counsel for Jones.
When is there ever to be finality in convictions. If one does not know what he is charged with he should file an exception or motion to quash the indictment. Under cases such as this, if he is found not guilty he wins. If he is found guilty, he gets a free ride by either a reversal or relief by habeas corpus after the conviction is final. This amounts to a loading up of court dockets for some useless unauthorized rule. Neither the Constitution of Texas nor the Constitution of the United States requires such needless procedure. See the dissenting opinion in Bouie v. State, 528 S.W.2d 587 (Tex.Cr.App.1975).
No reversible error has been shown. The relief sought should be denied.