1-1  By:  Wentworth                                         S.B. No. 918
    1-2        (In the Senate - Filed March 3, 1995; March 6, 1995, read
    1-3  first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
    1-4  April 5, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
    1-5  Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; April 5, 1995,
    1-6  sent to printer.)
    1-7  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 918                 By:  Moncrief
    1-8                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-9                                AN ACT
   1-10  relating to the appeal from a justice or municipal court in a
   1-11  criminal case.
   1-12        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-13        SECTION 1.  Article 44.14, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
   1-14  amended to read as follows:
   1-15        Art. 44.14.  FILING BOND PERFECTS APPEAL.  (a)  In appeals
   1-16  from justice and municipal <corporation> courts, when the appeal
   1-17  bond provided for in the preceding Article has been filed with the
   1-18  justice or judge who tried the case not later than the 10th day
   1-19  after the date the judgment was entered, the appeal in such case
   1-20  shall be held to be perfected.
   1-21        (b)  If an appeal bond is not timely filed, the appeal court
   1-22  does not have jurisdiction over the case and shall remand the case
   1-23  to the justice or municipal court for execution of the sentence.
   1-24        (c)  No appeal shall be dismissed because the defendant
   1-25  failed to give notice of appeal in open court.  An appeal by the
   1-26  defendant or the state may not be dismissed<, nor> on account of
   1-27  any defect in the transcript.
   1-28        SECTION 2.  Chapter 44, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
   1-29  amended by adding Article 44.181 to read as follows:
   1-30        Art. 44.181.  DEFECT IN COMPLAINT.  (a)  A court conducting a
   1-31  trial de novo based on an appeal from a justice or municipal court
   1-32  may not dismiss the case because of a defect in the complaint.
   1-33        (b)  The attorney representing the state may move to amend a
   1-34  defective complaint before the trial de novo begins.
   1-35        SECTION 3.  Article 45.49, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
   1-36  amended to read as follows:
   1-37        Art. 45.49.  JUDGMENTS IN OPEN COURT.  (a)  All judgments and
   1-38  sentences and final orders of the justice shall be rendered in open
   1-39  court and entered upon his docket.
   1-40        (b)  The clerk of the court shall note the date a judgment is
   1-41  entered on a docket.
   1-42        SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
   1-43  to an appeal from a justice or municipal court filed on or after
   1-44  the effective date of this Act.  An appeal filed before the
   1-45  effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
   1-46  appeal was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for
   1-47  that purpose.
   1-48        SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   1-49        SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-50  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-51  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-52  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-53  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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