1-1  By:  Ratliff                                          S.B. No. 1655
    1-2        (In the Senate - Filed April 18, 1995; April 18, 1995, read
    1-3  first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
    1-4  April 28, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 5,
    1-5  Nays 1; April 28, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the joint or separate prosecution of multiple
    1-9  defendants charged with offenses arising from the same criminal
   1-10  transaction.
   1-11        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-12        SECTION 1.  Article 36.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
   1-13  amended to read as follows:
   1-14        Art. 36.09.  SEVERANCE ON SEPARATE INDICTMENTS.  Two or more
   1-15  defendants who are jointly or separately indicted or complained
   1-16  against for the same offense or any offense growing out of the same
   1-17  transaction may be, in the discretion of the court, tried jointly
   1-18  or separately as to one or more defendants; provided that in any
   1-19  event either defendant may testify for the other or on behalf of
   1-20  the state; and provided further, that in cases in which, upon
   1-21  timely motion to sever, and evidence introduced thereon, <it is
   1-22  made known to the court that there is a previous admissible
   1-23  conviction against one defendant or that> a joint trial would be
   1-24  prejudicial to any defendant, the court shall order a severance as
   1-25  to the defendant whose joint trial would prejudice the other
   1-26  defendant or defendants.
   1-27        SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
   1-28  to a trial in a criminal case commenced on or after the effective
   1-29  date of this Act.  A trial commenced before the effective date of
   1-30  this Act is covered by the law in effect when the trial commenced,
   1-31  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
   1-32        SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   1-33        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-34  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-35  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-36  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-37  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
   1-38                               * * * * *