Court Opinion

ID: 9772632
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 17:24:26.193047+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:46.407475
License: Public Domain

*333KELLER, Judge,
dissenting.
I part company with the majority and concurring opinions over one issue: whether the trial court had authority to dismiss the indictment against appellee without the consent of the state. Because I believe that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to do so, I dissent.
In State v. Johnson, 821 S.W.2d 609, 612 (Tex.Crim.App.1991), this Court addressed the specific question of whether a court has any authority to dismiss a criminal case without the prosecutor’s consent. Recognizing that a court’s authority to act is limited to those actions authorized by constitution, statute, or common law, we stated:
[W]e find no statutory or constitutional provision which would imply a court’s authority to dismiss a case without the State’s consent, in contravention of the common law. In sum, there is no general authority, written or unwritten, inherent or implied, which would permit a trial court to dismiss a ease without the prosecutor’s consent.
Johnson, id., at 618.
Because the trial court lacked the authority to dismiss the indictment without the consent of the State, I respectfully dissent.
MeCORMICK, P.J., and WHITE and MANSFIELD, JJ., join.