Court Opinion

ID: 9643867
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 20:42:09.596412+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:11:04.773736
License: Public Domain

CLINTON, Judge,
concurring.
This Court is now moved to overrule a ten year old unanimous opinion, written by a former member of the Court whose adherence to regular procedure is legendary, and on which the panel opinion on original submission relied and followed. Though form is being exalted over substance, if the Court wills it, so be it. However, more than just Smith v. State, 486 S.W.2d 374, 377 (Tex.Cr.App.1972) must be interred, for it has progeny.
The opinion on original submission also cited Bolton v. State, 619 S.W.2d 166 (Tex.Cr.App.1981)—decided less than a year ago on the rationale of Smith v. State, supra—but the opinion of the Court in the case at bar says Bolton v. State, supra, is different because there “a proper and timely objection was made” [emphasis added] to introduction of pen packets showing prior convictions alleged for enhancement. Indeed, the attorney for Bolton did voice an objection contending that at the time Bolton was indigent and not represented by counsel. Still, as the Bolton opinion remarked, “Nothing was offered in support of the objection, and it was overruled,” id., at 167. That is to say, the objection in form had no apparent substance. Only during pendency of his appeal did Bolton demonstrate at a hearing on his application for postconviction relief in the convicting court that he was in fact without counsel, and there cause the habeas record be forwarded to this Court, given a cause number and filed and submitted. On the expressly stated authority of Smith v. State this Court En Banc granted relief in Bolton.
Without examining every mention of Smith v. State in opinions written during its lifespan, and acknowledging that some deal with other points, I direct attention to several principled progeny: Ramirez v. State, 486 S.W.2d 373 (Tex.Cr.App.1972); Henderson v. State, 552 S.W.2d 464 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Ex parte Rivers, 559 S.W.2d 659 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Dinnery v. State, 592 S.W.2d 343, 350 (Tex.Cr.App.1980); Coronado v. State, 617 S.W.2d 265 (Tex.Cr.App.1981).
What is done today merely effectuates a change of policy rather than law. The Court seems determined to provide “incentive” for a criminal defense lawyer to “inquire into the validity of the prior conviction” in preparation for trial; it expresses no concern that the prosecuting attorney know the validity of his evidence, nor for the accused whose punishment is enhanced by a prior conviction obtained in demonstrable violation of constitutional guarantees of effective representation by competent counsel.
Still, a single judge must take policy as he finds it and, if that expressed in Smith v. *526State and its progeny is no longer viable to a majority of the Court, he should accept the new policy as well.
Accordingly, I concur in the judgment of the Court.
ROBERTS, J., joins.