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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the criminal jurisdiction of the supreme court and the |
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abolishment of the court of criminal appeals. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article 4.04, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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Art. 4.04. SUPREME COURT [OF CRIMINAL APPEALS] |
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Sec. 1. The Supreme Court [of Criminal Appeals] and each |
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justice [judge] thereof shall have, and is hereby given, the power |
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and authority to grant and issue and cause the issuance of writs of |
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habeas corpus, and, in criminal law matters, the writs of mandamus, |
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procedendo, prohibition, and certiorari. The court and each |
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justice [judge] thereof shall have, and is hereby given, the power |
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and authority to grant and issue and cause the issuance of such |
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other writs as may be necessary to protect its jurisdiction or |
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enforce its judgments. |
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Sec. 2. The Supreme Court [of Criminal Appeals] shall have, |
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and is hereby given, final appellate and review jurisdiction in |
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criminal cases coextensive with the limits of the state, and its |
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determinations shall be final. The appeal of all cases in which the |
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death penalty has been assessed shall be to the Supreme Court [of
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Criminal Appeals]. In addition, the Supreme Court [of Criminal
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Appeals] may, on its own motion, with or without a petition for such |
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discretionary review being filed by one of the parties, review any |
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decision of a court of appeals in a criminal case. Discretionary |
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review by the Supreme Court [of Criminal Appeals] is not a matter of |
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right, but of sound judicial discretion. |
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SECTION 2. Section 22.001(a), Government Code, is amended |
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to read as follows: |
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(a) The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction [, except
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in criminal law matters,] coextensive with the limits of the state |
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and extending to all questions of law arising in the following cases |
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when they have been brought to the courts of appeals from appealable |
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judgment of the trial courts: |
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(1) a case in which the justices of a court of appeals |
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disagree on a question of law material to the decision; |
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(2) a case in which one of the courts of appeals holds |
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differently from a prior decision of another court of appeals or of |
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the supreme court on a question of law material to a decision of the |
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case; |
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(3) a case involving the construction or validity of a |
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statute necessary to a determination of the case; |
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(4) a case involving state revenue; |
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(5) a case in which the railroad commission is a party; |
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and |
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(6) any other case in which it appears that an error of |
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law has been committed by the court of appeals, and that error is of |
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such importance to the jurisprudence of the state that, in the |
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opinion of the supreme court, it requires correction, but excluding |
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those cases in which the jurisdiction of the court of appeals is |
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made final by statute. |
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SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 22, Government Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 22.1011 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 22.1011. REFERENCE TO COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS. A |
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reference in state law to the court of criminal appeals means the |
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supreme court, and a reference to a judge of the court of criminal |
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appeals means a justice of the supreme court. |
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SECTION 4. Sections 22.101 and 22.112, Government Code, are |
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repealed. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect on the date on which the |
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constitutional amendment proposed by the 81st Legislature, Regular |
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Session, 2009, abolishing the court of criminal appeals and vesting |
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that court's criminal jurisdiction in the supreme court takes |
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effect. If that amendment is not approved by the voters, this Act |
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has no effect. |