Griffin v. State
| Citation | 29 S.W.2d 349 |
| Decision Date | 28 May 1930 |
| Docket Number | No. 13395.,13395. |
| Parties | GRIFFIN v. STATE. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Texas. Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas |
Appeal from District Court, Ellis County; Tom J. Ball, Judge.
Cleve Griffin was indicted for murder, and, from a finding that he was mentally competent to make a rational defense, he appeals.
Appeal dismissed.
Will Hancock and Tom Whipple, both of Waxahachie, for appellant.
A. A. Dawson, State's Atty., of Austin, for the State.
The appellant in this case was indicted for murder. When his case was called for trial, a motion duly verified by the wife of appellant was filed and presented to the court which alleged that the appellant was mentally incompetent to make a rational defense, and asking that the court hear evidence to determine the mental condition of appellant. This was granted, and a separate trial was had. In response to special issues submitting this matter, the jury returned a verdict against appellant, and judgment was entered accordingly. Motion for a new trial was filed and overruled, and notice of appeal to this court given and entered of record. It thus appears that appellant is attempting to appeal direct from a finding in the lower court that he was mentally competent to make a rational defense.
The jurisdiction of the Court of Criminal Appeals is fixed by the Constitution, and is limited in article 5, § 5, to "all criminal cases of whatever grade, with such exceptions and under such regulations as may be prescribed by law." There is neither constitutional provision nor statutory authority which would expressly or impliedly in our opinion give the right of appeal from an order of the character noted above. Manifestly it does not amount to the conviction of an offense. It is not a "criminal case" and we therefore cannot entertain jurisdiction of this appeal. 4 Tex. Jur. Par. 6; Millikin v. Jeffrey, 108 Tex. Cr. R. 84, 299 S. W. 435; De Silvia v. State. 98 Tex. Cr. R. 499, 267 S. W. 271; Ex parte Morris, 96 Tex. Cr. R. 256, 257 S. W. 894; Holland v. State, 52 Tex. Cr. R. 160, 105 Tex. Cr. R. 812; Darnell v. State, 24 Tex. App. 6, 5 S. W. 522.
The question of whether or not the proceeding above was ancillary to the murder case and its issues of law might therefore be brought up with the main case is not here presented. We pass only on the right to appeal direct from a finding that he was mentally competent to conduct a rational defense.
Believing that this court is without jurisdiction, the appeal is dismissed.
The foreging opinion of the Commission of Appeals has been examined by the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals and approved by the Court.
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Jackson v. State
...from sanity hearings conducted after a conviction or related to direct appeals from preliminary hearings on competency. In Griffin v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 29 S.W.2d 349, this Court held that the Court of Criminal Appeals does not have jurisdiction to hear a direct appeal from a preliminary h......
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Basaldua v. State
...Hardin v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 283, 248 S.W.2d 487 (1952); Morgan v. State, 135 Tex.Cr.R. 76, 117 S.W.2d 76 (1938); Griffin v. State, 29 S.W.2d 349, 350 (Tex.Cr.App.1930). See also Bretz v. State, 508 S.W.2d 97 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Swanson v. State, Although the purported appellant has charac......
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White v. State
...appealed, and therefore the case was not a "criminal case" in light of Article V, § 5, Texas Constitution. See, i.e., Griffin v. State, 29 S.W.2d 349 (Tex.Cr.App.1930); Hardin v. State, 157 Tex.Cr.R. 283, 248 S.W.2d 487 (1952). The question of whether the issues involved in a competency hea......
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Kutzner v. State
...and no punishment ha[d] been assessed." See Hardin v. State, 157 Tex.Crim. 283, 248 S.W.2d 487, 487 (1952).6 Hardin, however, relied on Griffin v. State which decided that a defendant's appeal from a pretrial order finding him competent to stand trial was not a "criminal case" because it di......