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A JOINT RESOLUTION
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proposing a constitutional amendment abolishing the death penalty. |
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Article I, Texas Constitution, is amended by |
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adding Section 13a to read as follows: |
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Sec. 13a. A penalty of death shall not be imposed against |
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any person. |
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SECTION 2. Section 4(b), Article V, Texas Constitution, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(b) For the purpose of hearing cases, the Court of Criminal |
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Appeals may sit in panels of three Judges, the designation thereof |
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to be under rules established by the court. In a panel of three |
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Judges, two Judges shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of |
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two Judges shall be necessary for a decision. The Presiding Judge, |
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under rules established by the court, shall convene the court en |
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banc for the transaction of all other business and may convene the |
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court en banc for the purpose of hearing cases. The court must sit |
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en banc during proceedings involving capital cases [punishment] and |
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other cases as required by law. When convened en banc, five Judges |
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shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of five Judges shall |
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be necessary for a decision. The Court of Criminal Appeals may |
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appoint Commissioners in aid of the Court of Criminal Appeals as |
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provided by law. |
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SECTION 3. Section 5(b), Article V, Texas Constitution, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(b) [The appeal of all cases in which the death penalty has
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been assessed shall be to the Court of Criminal Appeals.] The |
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appeal of all [other] criminal cases shall be to the Courts of |
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Appeal as prescribed by law. In addition, the Court of Criminal |
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Appeals may, on its own motion, review a decision of a Court of |
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Appeals in a criminal case as provided by law. Discretionary review |
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by the Court of Criminal Appeals is not a matter of right, but of |
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sound judicial discretion. |
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SECTION 4. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be |
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submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 3, 2015. |
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The ballot shall be printed to provide for voting for or against the |
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proposition: "The constitutional amendment abolishing the death |
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penalty." |