By:  Wentworth                                         S.B. No. 918
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the appeal from a justice or municipal court in a
    1-2  criminal case.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Article 44.14, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
    1-5  amended to read as follows:
    1-6        Art. 44.14.  FILING BOND PERFECTS APPEAL.  (a)  In appeals
    1-7  from justice and municipal <corporation> courts, when the appeal
    1-8  bond provided for in the preceding Article has been filed with the
    1-9  justice or judge who tried the case not later than the 10th day
   1-10  after the date the judgment was entered, the appeal in such case
   1-11  shall be held to be perfected.
   1-12        (b)  If an appeal bond is not timely filed, the appeal court
   1-13  does not have jurisdiction over the case and shall remand the case
   1-14  to the justice or municipal court for execution of the sentence.
   1-15        (c)  No appeal shall be dismissed because the defendant
   1-16  failed to give notice of appeal in open court.  An appeal by the
   1-17  defendant or the state may not be dismissed<, nor> on account of
   1-18  any defect in the transcript.
   1-19        SECTION 2.  Chapter 44, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
   1-20  amended by adding Article 44.181 to read as follows:
   1-21        Art. 44.181.  DEFECT IN COMPLAINT.  (a)  A court conducting a
   1-22  trial de novo based on an appeal from a justice or municipal court
   1-23  may not dismiss the case because of a defect in the complaint.
   1-24        (b)  The attorney representing the state may move to amend a
    2-1  defective complaint before the trial de novo begins.
    2-2        SECTION 3.  Article 45.49, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
    2-3  amended to read as follows:
    2-4        Art. 45.49.  JUDGMENTS IN OPEN COURT.  (a)  All judgments and
    2-5  sentences and final orders of the justice shall be rendered in open
    2-6  court and entered upon his docket.
    2-7        (b)  The clerk of the court shall note the date a judgment is
    2-8  entered on a docket.
    2-9        SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
   2-10  to an appeal from a justice or municipal court filed on or after
   2-11  the effective date of this Act.  An appeal filed before the
   2-12  effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
   2-13  appeal was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for
   2-14  that purpose.
   2-15        SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   2-16        SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-17  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-18  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-19  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-20  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.