Court Opinion

ID: 9636016
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:12:14.624018+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:40.305258
License: Public Domain

BAIRD, Judge,
dissenting.
Because the majority fails to follow our policy of statutory interpretation established in Boykin v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782 (Tex.Cr.App.1991), I respectfully dissent. See page 245. Judge Clinton is correct; a conviction for capital murder based upon the commission of aggravated rape requires conduct that causes serious bodily injury separate from that which causes the complainant’s death. At 248 (Clinton, J., dissenting). For the following reasons, I join Judge Clinton’s dissent.
I.
The majority states the general rule of statutory interpretation as follows:
When we interpret any statute, we try “to effectuate the ‘collective’ intent or purpose of the legislators who enacted the legislation.” Boykin v. State, 818 S.W.2d 782, 785 (Tex.Cr.App.1991). Normally, we will accomplish this goal simply by focusing our attention on and discerning the objective meaning of the statute’s literal text at the time of its enactment. Id. In the majority of situations, this exercise will yield an end result of effectuating the intent of the Legislature by giving effect to the statute’s plain language. Id.
*268Majority opinion at 244. According to the majority, an exception to this general rule occurs when a literal reading of a statute produces “absurd results.” Id. at 244. Finding our capital punishment statute “susceptible to two reasonable interpretations,” the majority concludes the only reasonable interpretation which fails to produce an absurd result is the prosecution of capital murder for the commission of murder wherein any rape occurred. Id. at 245-246.
In Boykin, we established a policy of statutory interpretation. In the formulation of that policy we stated:
When attempting to discern the collective legislative intent or purpose, we necessarily focus our attention on the literal text of the statute in question and attempt to discern the fair, objective meaning of that text at the time of its enactment. We do this because the text of the statute is the law in the sense that it is the only thing actually adopted by the legislators, probably through compromise, and submitted to the Governor for her signature. We focus on the literal text because the text is the only definitive evidence what the legislators (and perhaps the Governor) had in mind when the statute was enacted into law.
* * * * * *
If the plain language of a statute would lead to absurd results, or if the language is not plain but rather ambiguous, then and only then, out of absolute necessity, is it constitutionally permissible for a court to consider, in arriving at a sensible interpretation, such extra textual factors as executive or administrative interpretations of the statute or legislative history.
Boykin, 818 S.W.2d at 785-786 (emphasis in original).
Therefore, under the policy established in Boykin, we must view the literal text of the statute. If the plain language of the statute is clear and unambiguous, and would not lead to absurd results, we accept the literal text of the statute. However, if we determine the text is ambiguous, or would lead to an absurd result, we consider the legislative history and other interpretations of the statute. Id. At that point, we may turn to Tex.Gov’t Code Ann. § 311.023 for assistance.1
II.
At the time of the commission of this offense, the relevant portions of Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 19.03 provided:
(a) A person commits an offense if he commits murder as defined under Section 19.02(a)(1) of this code and:
(2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated rape, or arson;2
The majority finds the literal text of the statute would lead to an “absurd” result if, in the instant case, we were to require the conduct that caused the serious bodily injury be separate from the conduct that caused the complainant’s death. The majority sets forth three hypothetical situations wherein they conclude the Legislature must have intended § 19.03 to apply but would not apply if the literal text was followed. Majority opinion at 244-245. However, the majority does not provide any authority for that conclusion, nor is there an analysis of the “executive or ad*269ministrative interpretations of the statute or legislative history” to determine whether the Legislature intended the capital murder statute to apply to the hypothetical situations created by the majority. Likewise, I have found no authority to support the majority’s conclusion.
At the time of the enactment of § 19.03, the penal code provided for the aggravated commission of three of the offenses listed within § 19.03(a)(2): kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping (See, Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 20.03 and § 20.04); robbery and aggravated robbery (See, Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 29.02 and § 29.03); and, rape and aggravated rape (See § 21.02 and § 21.03).3 Clearly, the Legislature could have required proof of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery but refused to do so. The majority offers no explanation for Legislature’s decision to specifically require proof of an aggravated rape to support a conviction of capital murder.
Rather, the majority fails to recognize that § 19.03 was enacted in the wake of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972) (decided in conjunction with Branch v. Texas). Branch was sentenced to death for the offense of rape by force wherein the complainant was not murdered. Branch v. State, 447 S.W.2d 932 (Tex.Cr.App.1969). In Branch, the Supreme Court struck down our previous capital murder statute and mandated a statute that narrowed the class of crimes punishable by death. Branch v. Texas, 408 U.S. at 310-311, 92 S.Ct. at 2763 (White, J., concurring). In light of § 19.03 being enacted the term following Branch, we can only assume the Legislature specifically chose to require proof of aggravated rape in order to limit the number of death eligible offenses. Indeed, § 19.03, although amended by the Legislature in other forms, still requires proof of an aggravated sexual assault.4 Today the majority, by permitting the imposition of death for the offense of aggravated rape which was not committed in the course of murder as required by § 19.03, thwarts the legislative efforts to narrow the class of crimes punishable by death.
Because the majority abandons our established policy of statutory interpretation, I respectfully dissent. With these comments, I join Judge Clinton’s dissent.

. Although the majority does not cite Tex.Gov’t Code Ann. § 311.023, use of this provision is appropriate when the statute under consideration is ambiguous or would lead to an absurd result. Boykin, 818 S.W.2d at 786. § 311.023 provides:
In construing a statute, whether or not the statute is considered ambiguous on its face, a court may consider among other matters the:
(1) object sought to be attained;
(2) circumstances under which the statute was enacted;
(3) legislative history;
(4) common law or former statutory provisions, including laws on the same or similar subjects;
(5) consequences of a particular construction;
(6) administrative construction of the statute; and
(7) title (caption), preamble, and emergency provision.

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

. Appellant was charged with committing this offense on December 20, 1976 and was originally tried and convicted in 1977. Therefore, all references to the Penal Code herein will be to the code as it existed at that time.

. It should be noted the Legislature effectively expanded the class of death eligible offenses in 1983 and 1987 by amending our statutes related to aggravated rape, renaming the offense "aggravated sexual assault.” Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5312, ch. 977, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 573, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987; and, Acts 1987, 70th Leg., 2nd C.S., ch. 16, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Therefore, the instant offense could be properly prosecuted as a capital murder had it occurred after September 1, 1983. However, those amendments are not retroactive. Lindsey v. State, 672 S.W.2d 892 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1984).