State v. Macias, No. 2-04-292-CR (TX 1/27/2005)
| Decision Date | 27 January 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 2-04-292-CR,2-04-292-CR |
| Parties | THE STATE OF TEXAS, State, v. MARK THERMANN MACIAS, Appellee. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Texas |
Appeal from County Criminal Court No. 4 of Denton County.
Panel F: GARDNER, HOLMAN, and WALKER, JJ.
The trial court determined that the criminal information charging appellant was fundamentally defective because it did not state an offense; therefore, the trial court dismissed the case for want of jurisdiction. The State appeals. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 44.01(a)(1) (Vernon Supp. 2004-05). We will affirm.
The State charged appellant Mark Thermann Macias with the offense of driving while his license was suspended. See Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 521.457 (Vernon Supp. 2004-05). The amended criminal information in appellant's case alleged, in pertinent part,
[that] MARK THERMANN MACIAS . . . on or about the 21st day of April, A.D. 2002 . . . did then and there intentionally or knowingly operate a motor vehicle on a highway during a period that the Texas Drivers License of the defendant was revoked, cancelled or under suspension pursuant to Chapter 521, Section 521.201, Transportation Code.
At a pretrial hearing, appellant's counsel argued that section 521.201 does not authorize revocation, cancellation, or suspension of a driver's license. See Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 521.201 (Vernon Supp. 2004-05 ) ("License Ineligibility in General"). Consequently, appellant argued, the information did not state an offense, and the court did not have jurisdiction. The State responded by admitting extraneous evidence concerning the reason for suspension of appellant's license.2 The trial court concluded that because the State alleged the suspension was pursuant to section 521.201, it would be bound to prove the reason for suspension under that statute, and because that section did not authorize suspension of a driver's license, the information was fatally defective because it did not state an offense. Therefore, the court dismissed the case for want of jurisdiction.
"An `information' is a written statement filed and presented in behalf of the State by the district or county attorney, charging the defendant with an offense which may by law be so prosecuted." Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 21.20 (Vernon 1989). A fundamentally defective information fails to invoke the court's jurisdiction. Daniels v. State, 573 S.W.2d 21, 24 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978). An information is fundamentally defective if it fails to state an offense against the accused. Thompson v. State, 697 S.W.2d 413, 415 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985).
We must construe an information by practical considerations, not technical ones, and by reading the information as a whole. Whetstone v. State, 786 S.W.2d 361, 364 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990). When examining an information for fundamental error, the test is whether the State's pleading alleges an offense under the law. Id.; Thompson, 697 S.W.2d at 415.
A criminal information must set forth the offense in plain and intelligible words, so that the accused may know the nature of the charge against him and may prepare his defense. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 21.21(7) (Vernon 1989); Sparkman v. State, 997 S.W.2d 660, 664-65 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 1999, no pet.). Generally, an information is considered sufficient if the State alleges all of the elements of the offense that the accused has allegedly committed. Thompson, 697 S.W.2d at 415.
The elements of the offense of driving with a suspended license are as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway:
(1) after the person's driver's license has been canceled under this chapter if the person does not have a license that was subsequently issued under this chapter;
(2) during a period that the person's driver's license or privilege is suspended or revoked under any law of this state;
(3) while the person's driver's license is expired if the license expired during a period of suspension; or
(4) after renewal of the person's driver's license has been denied under any law of this state, if the person does not have a driver's license subsequently issued under this chapter.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person is the subject of an order issued under any law of this state that prohibits the person from obtaining a driver's license and the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway.
See Tex. Transp. Code Ann. § 521.457(a)-(b) ("Driving While License Invalid"). But that is not what the State charged appellant with. Instead, the information alleged that appellant had been operating a motor vehicle during a period when his driver's license had been "revoked, cancelled or under suspension pursuant to section 521.201." Section 521.201 addresses license ineligibility in general and provides as follows:
The department may not issue any license to a person who:
(1) is under 15 years of age;
(2) is under 18 years of age unless the person complies with the requirements imposed by Section 521.204;
(3) is shown to be addicted to the use of alcohol, a controlled substance, or another drug that renders a person incapable of driving;
(4) holds a driver's license issued by this state or another state or country that is revoked, canceled, or under...
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