Court Opinion

ID: 9671948
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:46:00.350803+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:13.273056
License: Public Domain

CAMPBELL, Judge,
concurring.
In order to harmonize my opinion in Ex parte Spaulding, 687 S.W.2d 741 (Tex.Cr.App.1985), with this Court’s majority today, I offer the following observations.
This Court’s past use of the term “void at its inception” to describe the status of the entire1 verdict and judgment, as we did in Bogany v. State, 661 S.W.2d 957 (Tex.Cr.App.1983), has not been entirely accurate. See also, Ex parte Mclver, 586 S.W.2d 851 (Tex.Cr.App.1979). By characterizing the entire verdict and judgment as “void at its inception” in Bogany-type situations, we have implied that no cure for an unauthorized sentence could ever be supplied by an appellate court other than reversal of the entire conviction. Spaulding, supra at 743.
The voidness of the entire verdict and judgment in Bogany, supra at 958 and 959, depended directly upon the unavailability of any remedy at law other than reversal of the entire conviction. However, the only portion of the verdict and judgment that was truly void was that portion which included an unauthorized fine. The error in the verdict might have been more accurately designated as a partially void verdict from which this Court lacked any remedy other than reversal. Because this Court lacked any authority to separate the void portion of the verdict from the remaining valid portion of the verdict, we were forced to “void” the entire verdict and judgment by reversing the entire conviction.
In such context, the opinion in Spauld-ing was correct in noting that the verdict was “void at its inception,” at least as to that portion of the verdict which contained an unauthorized fine. Because we did not yet have a remedy for Bogany error, we had no choice but to “void” the remainder of the verdict by reversing the conviction.
The remedies available to a court regarding a partially void verdict differ from the remedies available where an entire verdict is void. A verdict which is entirely void at its inception generally results from a defective condition, such as a lack of jurisdiction, permeating the entire verdict and creating a defect from which no remedy ever could be supplied by this Court other than reversal. Ex parte Charles, 582 S.W.2d 836, 837 (Tex.Cr.App.1979).
The legislature, by granting this Court the power to regulate the assessment of an unauthorized verdict, has not removed from the jury the power to set punishment. The authorized portion of the verdict is retained, and the defendant has been gratuitously benefited by an arguably lesser sentence than might otherwise have been assessed.
In deliberating over the proper punishment to be assessed in this case, the jury effectively was given a greater range of punishment than legally should have been *609allowed. The jury had no authority to include a fine; therefore, our removal of the fine takes nothing away from the jury’s function. By reducing the sentence, through elimination of the fine, this Court has only retained that portion of the verdict which was properly returned by the jury.
With these comments, I join the opinion and judgment of the Court.

. All emphasis is supplied by the author unless otherwise indicated.