Court Opinion

ID: 9672687
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:58:56.044505+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:17.673707
License: Public Domain

TEAGUE, Judge,
concurring.
I write because the majority does not address the serious jurisdictional question that Judge Clinton raises in the dissenting opinion that he has filed in this cause, namely, whether this Court has jurisdiction over this cause.
The First Court of Appeals in its cause of Dugard v. State (No. 01-82-0100-GR, May 5, 1983), stated the following in its opinion: “Pursuant to [Art. 44.24(b), V.A.C.C.P.], the appeal is abated and we remand the cause to the trial court with instructions to grant a hearing on appellant’s motion for new trial without prejudice to appellant’s right of further appeal.” Because of the wording, does this cause the decision of the court of appeals only to be an interlocutory order, or does it constitute a final decision by the court of appeals?
Implicit within the Rules of this Court and Art. 44.45, Y.A.C.C.P., which govern this Court’s jurisdiction over petitions for discretionary review, is the fact that it is only in the instance that a decision of a court of appeals has become final can this *532Court’s jurisdiction then be invoked to review a petition for discretionary review.
I am now convinced that because of what the court of appeals expressly ordered to be done in its opinion, namely, “the appeal is abated and we remand the cause to the trial court with instructions to grant a hearing on appellant’s motion for new trial without prejudice to appellant’s right of further appeal,” that its decision is now final and subject to review by this Court. Thus, this Court has jurisdiction over the decision of the court of appeals.
Had the opinion of the First Court of Appeals read like the opinion of the San Antonio Court of Appeals did in Gonzales v. State, 635 S.W.2d 180 (Tex.Cr.App.1982), after remand, see 643 S.W.2d 751 (Tex.App. —San Antonio 1982), I would agree with Judge Clinton that this Court does not have jurisdiction over this cause. However, the critical difference between Gonzales v. State, supra, and Dugard v. State, supra, lies in how the respective opinions read.
In Gonzales v. State, supra, the San Antonio Court of Appeals expressly stated the following in its opinion: “This cause is abated and remanded to the trial court for the purpose of conducting an evidentiary hearing within 90 days from the date of this opinion, to determine whether appellant’s claims of jury misconduct are meritorious. A record of that proceeding shall be prepared in the manner prescribed by Tex. Code Crim.Pro.Ann. art. 40.09 (Vernon Supp.1982) and transmitted to this Court for further disposition. IT IS SO ORDERED.” Thus, by the clear and express wording of what the court of appeals stated, when it ordered the cause remanded to the trial court, it is obvious that it retained jurisdiction over the cause, thus preventing its decision from becoming final.
In our cause, however, but because of the manner in which the court of appeals stated was to be done with the cause, the court of appeals did not retain jurisdiction over the case, but, instead, divested itself of jurisdiction over the case. Thus, for our
purposes, the decision of the court of appeals is a final decision and subject to review by this Court.
The majority opinion holds that because of this Court’s decision of Sneed v. State, 670 S.W.2d 262 (Tex.Cr.App.1984), appellant is entitled to no relief. To that extent, the majority correctly decides this cause. However, I again strongly urge the majority to reconsider and reevaluate this Court’s decision of Sneed v. State, supra, and, after doing so, summarily and expressly overrule that decision because it flies in the face of what the Legislature lawfully mandated when it enacted Subsections 7 and 8 of Art. 40.03, V.A.C.C.P.
The majority, however, declines to take the proper step and again refuses to expressly overrule Sneed v. State, supra. Therefore, but because of stare decisis, I am compelled to agree with the majority opinion that it reaches the right result in disposing of appellant’s contention that because of jury misconduct he is entitled to a new trial.
I reluctantly concur.