Faulks v. State

Decision Date22 October 1975
Docket NumberNo. 50461,50461
Citation528 S.W.2d 607
CourtTexas Court of Criminal Appeals
PartiesKenneth Noel FAULKS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

Jack Rushing, Dallas, for appellant.

Henry Wade, Dist. Atty., Richard W. Wilhelm and Paul Macaluso, Asst. Dist. Attys., Dallas, Jim D. Vollers, State's Atty., and David S. McAngus, Asst. State's Atty., Austin, for the State.

OPINION

DALLY, Commissioner.

This is an appeal from a conviction for the offense of burglary, which was committed on August 20, 1974; after a jury trial and pursuant to appellant's election, the court set the punishment at imprisonment for 5 years.

The only question for review is whether the indictment is duplicitous.

The complained of indictment charged that the appellant '. . . did unlawfully, then and there intentionally and knowingly and without the effective consent of Marjorie Tyre, hereafter called Complainant, enter a building owned by the said Complainant and did then and there commit theft, to wit; did then and there unlawfully exercise control over personal property of Complainant the owner thereof without the effective consent of the said Complainant, and with intent to deprive the said owner of said property.' 1

It is appellant's contention that the trial court erred in refusing to quash the indictment. He asserts that the indictment charges him in the same count with two separate offenses--burglary and theft--and that it is therefore duplicitous. There is no written motion to quash the indictment in the record; however, the appellant's counsel made an oral motion to quash the indictment immediately prior to trial. Article 27.10, V.A.C.C.P. (formerly Article 513, V.A.C.C.P. (1925)) requires that all motions to set aside an indictment or information shall be in writing. It was held under former Article 513, V.A.C.C.P. (1925), that an oral motion to quash or to dismiss the indictment preserved nothing for review. Fegan v. State, 152 Tex.Cr.R. 452, 215 S.W.2d 163 (1948); Quarles v. State, 398 S.W.2d 935 (Tex.Cr.App.1966); Stecher v. State, 383 S.W.2d 594 (Tex.Cr.App.1964); Riley v. State, 379 S.W.2d 79 (Tex.Cr.App.1964). The requirement of a written motion is the same under Article 27.10, V.A.C.C.P.; therefore, appellant's contention is not properly before us for review. However, were this ground before us, we would hold the overruling of the motion to be proper.

Appellant relies on Article 21.24, V.A.C.C.P., which provides:

'An indictment, information or complaint may contain as many counts charging the same offense as the attorney who prepares it, acting in good faith, may think necessary to insert, but may not charge more than one offense. An indictment or information shall be sufficient if any one of its counts be sufficient.'

Burglary and theft are separate offenses; Punchard v. State, 124 Tex.Cr.R. 101, 61 S.W.2d 495 (1933); Alarcon v. State, 92 Tex.Cr.R. 288, 242 S.W. 1056 (1922); it has therefore generally been the practice to return separate indictments for these offenses. It has, however, long been established that the offenses of burglary and theft may be charged in the same court of a single indictment. Williams v. State, 24 Tex.App. 69, 5 S.W. 838 (1887); Turner v. State, 22 Tex.App. 42, 2 S.W. 619 (1886); Bernal v. State, 95 S.W. 118 (Tex.Cr.App.1906).

Under former Penal Code provisions it was held that both burglary and theft could be charged in the same count of an indictment. See Bernal v. State, supra; Powers v. State, 154 Tex.Cr.R. 73, 225 S.W.2d 176 (1949); Shepherd v. State, 42 Tex. 501 (1875); Hobbs v. State, 44 Tex. 353 (1875). Further, it is said in 3 Tex.Jur.2d, Indictment and Information, Sec. 43, pp. 612--3, that:

'Where the definition of one offense so includes another that proof of the one necessarily includes or makes out the other, both may be charged in the same count . . . An indictment for burglary may also charge theft in the same count . . .'

There is nothing contained in V.T.C.A. Penal Code, Sec. 30.02 (burglary) which would point to a contrary holding under the new Code:

'(a) A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, he:

'(1) enters a habitation, or a building (or any portion of a building) not then open to the public, with intent to commit a felony or theft; or

'(2) remains concealed, with intent to commit a felony or theft, in a building or habitation; or

'(3) enters a building or habitation and commits or attempts to commit a felony or theft.

A necessary element of the...

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31 cases
  • DeVaughn v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • April 13, 1988
    ...v. State, 632 S.W.2d 151 (Tex.Cr.App.1982); Traylor v. State, 561 S.W.2d 492 (Tex.Cr.App.1978); Davila v. State, supra; Faulks v. State, 528 S.W.2d 607 (Tex.Cr.App.1975). The Court has come to the same conclusion regarding claims that failure to allege these facts in an indictment under § 3......
  • Drake v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • February 27, 1985
    ...recast Article 21.24 first went unnoticed at the appellate level and received uneven treatment in trial courts. See Faulks v. State, 528 S.W.2d 607 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); 5 White v. State, 543 S.W.2d 130 (Tex.Cr.App.1976), Jordan v. State, 552 S.W.2d 478 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); and Robinson v. State......
  • Ex parte Cannon
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
    • May 12, 1976
    ...felony or theft, a necessary element of the offense of burglary under V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Sec. 30.02(a)(1) or (a)(2). Faulks v. State, 528 S.W.2d 607 (Tex.Cr.App.1975). We again set out the indictment, as 'IN THE NAME AND BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, the Grand Jurors, good and ......
  • Molinar v. The State Of Tex., 14-08-00749-CR
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Texas
    • July 22, 2010
    ...Ann. art. 27.10 (Vernon 2006); Roy v. State, 76 S.W.3d 87, 99 (Tex. App. Houston [14th Dist.] 2002, no pet.); see Faulks v. State, 528 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex. Crim. App. 1975). When the trial court overrules an oral motion to quash, it preserves nothing on appeal because the motion was not in......
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10 books & journal articles
  • Charging Instruments
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas DWI Manual - 2019 Legal principles
    • August 3, 2019
    ...quash must be in writing. [Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 27.10.] An oral motion to quash preserves nothing for review. [ Faulks v. State , 528 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex.Crim.App. 1975); Stoutner v. State , 36 S.W.3d 716, 719 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001).] §16:82 The Motion Must Be Specif‌ic ......
  • Charging Instruments
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas DWI Manual - 2018 Legal principles
    • August 3, 2018
    ...quash must be in writing. [Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 27.10.] An oral motion to quash preserves nothing for review. [ Faulks v. State , 528 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex.Crim.App. 1975); Stoutner v. State , 36 S.W.3d 716, 719 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001).] §16:82 The Motion Must Be Speciic Th......
  • Charging Instruments
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Texas DWI Manual Legal principles
    • May 5, 2023
    ...quash must be in writing. [Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 27.10.] An oral motion to quash preserves nothing for review. [ Faulks v. State , 528 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex.Crim.App. 1975); Stoutner v. State , 36 S.W.3d 716, 719 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001), no pet.] §16:82 The Motion Must Be Sp......
  • Charging Instruments
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas DWI Manual - 2017 Legal Principles
    • August 4, 2017
    ...quash must be in writing. [Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 27.10.] An oral motion to quash preserves nothing for review. [ Faulks v. State , 528 S.W.2d 607, 609 (Tex.Crim.App. 1975); Stoutner v. State , 36 S.W.3d 716, 719 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001).] §16:82 The Motion Must Be Speciic Th......
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