Court Opinion

ID: 9858484
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 16:25:41.484921+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:54:38.099755
License: Public Domain

BAIRD, Judge,
dissenting.
The majority opinion raises two procedural questions. First, should this Court disturb a holding of the court of appeals when that holding has not been challenged by either party? Second, what action should we take when the decision of the court of appeals fails to consider relevant, and perhaps controlling, authority from this Court?
I.
In resolving appellant’s third point of error, the Court of Appeals concluded appellant’s arrest was illegal. Cornealius v. State, 870 S.W.2d 169, 173 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994). This conclusion is not challenged because the State did not seek our review of the arrest issue.1 The instant *735case is before us on appellant’s petition and he obviously does not challenge the favorable holding by the Court of Appeals. Nevertheless, the majority sua sponte addresses the arrest issue and holds the Court of Appeals erred in holding appellant’s arrest was illegal. Ante, 900 S.W.2d at 734.
We should not disturb a holding by the court of appeals when that holding has not been challenged by either party. Unless we grant review on our own motion, Tex. R.App.P. 200(a), our review is limited to the issues raised by the parties. In the instant case, the majority disturbs an uncontested holding of the Court of Appeals in order to avoid review of the ground we agreed to decide. See, II, infra. To reach an issue that has not been raised, briefed or argued by the parties is patently unfair.
II.
After holding appellant’s arrest was illegal, the Court of Appeals held appellant’s confession was sufficiently attenuated from the illegal arrest. Cornealius, 870 S.W.2d at 174. However, in conducting its attenuation analysis, the Court failed to consider two cases cited by appellant, Comer v. State, 776 S.W.2d 191 (Tex.Cr.App.1989), and Bell v. State, 724 S.W.2d 780 (Tex.Cr.App.1986). We granted review to consider the Court of Appeals’ attenuation analysis.
Our discretionary review is limited to “decisions” of the courts of appeals. However, if we review a decision where the court of appeals failed to apply the relevant authority, we are essentially conducting a de novo review of the issue; circumventing the court of appeals from the appellate process. When a court of appeals fails to consider relevant authority, we should vacate its judgment and remand the case for reconsideration in light of that relevant authority. Indeed, that was the procedure followed in Thomason v. State, 892 S.W.2d 8 (Tex.Cr.App.1994).
III.
In order to place the instant case in the correct posture for our ultimate review, we should remand this case to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration in light of Bell and Comer. Because the majority fails to do so, I respectfully dissent.
CLINTON, J., joins part I. of this opinion.
MALONEY, J., joins this opinion.

. The majority believes the State has challenged the Court of Appeals holding because “[t]he State uses over a page out of three and one-half pages of the arguments and authorities section of its brief to argue that the arrest was not illegal.” Ante, 900 S.W.2d at 733, n. 1. The majority's conclusion that the State's brief on appellant’s petition for discretionary review properly preserves the issue for our review is incorrect and contradicts a long line of authority from this Court. In Keith v. State, 782 S.W.2d 861, 863, n. 4 (Tex.Cr.App.1989), we held the issue was not preserved for review simply because it is included within the State’s brief. Judge White, who authored the opinion of the Court, stated:
In its brief, the State devotes considerable space to an argument.... We do not reach this argument of the State, however, because it has not been preserved for review before this Court.... In [Wilson v. State, 772 S.W.2d 118 (Tex.Cr.App.1989)], this Court held that where the State intends to claim an error by the Court of Appeals' rejection of an argument, that claim should be presented to this Court in a petition for discretionary review or a cross-*735petition for discretionary review. Since the State "won” before the Court of Appeals in the instant case, a cross-petition would have been both appropriate and necessary to preserve this issue for review by this Court.
Keith, 782 S.W.2d at 863-864, n. 4 (Emphasis added.). See also Batiste v. State, 888 S.W.2d 9 (Tex.Cr.App.1994) (We do not address questions not raised by petition or cross-petition for discretionary review.); Richardson v. State, 865 S.W.2d 944, 953 n. 9 (Tex.Cr.App.1993); Wright v. State, 832 S.W.2d 601, 606 (Tex.Cr.App. 1992) (McCormick, P J., White and Benevides, JX, concurring) ("[B]ecause the State did not complain in a cross petition for discretionary review about the lower court’s disposition of the procedural default issue, that issue is not before us in this case.") (Emphasis added.); Haughton v. State, 805 S.W.2d 405, 407, n. 1 (Tex.Cr.App. 1990) (To preserve argument for review the State must file a cross-petition for discretionary review.); Hass v. State, 790 S.W.2d 609, 610, n. 1 (Tex.Cr.App. 1990); and, Wilson v. State, 111 S.W.2d 118, 120, n. 3 (Tex.Cr.App. 1989) (The State may not present an argument in their brief if it did not present to this Court by petition or cross-petition for discretionary review.).