Pue, Jeremy Wade ( 2018 )


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  •                                                                            WR-85,447-0
    COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL:
    AUSTIN, TEXA:
    Transmitted 4/16/2018 9:41 PP
    Accepted 4/18/2018 11:40AP
    DEANA WILLIAMSOI
    NO. WR-85,447-01                                        CLERI
    IN THE                  COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
    COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS              DEANA Cl'Smson, clerk
    AT AUSTIN, TEXAS
    EX PARTE JEREMY WADE PUE, Applicant
    On Art. 11.07 Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus Arising out of Cause
    Number CR2008-214-1 in the 207th District Court ofComal County, Texas
    STATE'S MOTION FOR REHEARING
    ATTORNEY FOR THE STATE
    Sammy McCrary
    Chief Felony Prosecutor
    Comal County, Texas
    Texas Bar No. 90001990
    150 N. Seguin Ave., Suite 307
    New Braunfels, Texas 78130
    (830) 221-1300
    (830) 608-2008 (FAX)
    Email: mccras(£>co.comal.tx..us
    ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED
    NO. WR-85,447-01
    IN THE
    COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS
    AT AUSTIN, TEXAS
    EX PARTE JEREMY WADE PUE, Applicant
    STATE'S MOTION FOR REHEARING
    TO THE HONORABLE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS:
    Comes now the State of Texas, Appellee in the above-entitled and -
    numbered cause, and respectfully urges this Court to grant rehearing and deny
    relief to the Applicant and in support thereof would show the Court as follows:
    GROUNDS FOR REHEARING
    The statutory basis for holding that a probated sentence is not "final" was
    long ago removed from our law by the Texas Legislature. Furthermore, denying
    the use of a conviction followed by a suspended or probated sentence is contrary
    to the express purposes of recidivist statutes. For these reasons, the State
    respectfully requests that this Court grant rehearing in this matter, hold that
    pursuant to Texas law a probated or suspended sentence is "final" for purposes of
    enhancement, and deny relief to the Applicant.
    STATEMENT OF THE CASE
    In 2008, Applicant, Jeremy Wade Pue, was convicted by a jury of the third-
    degree felony offense of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle. Because his
    sentence was enhanced by two prior California felony convictions, one from 2002
    and the other from 2007, the trial court sentenced Applicant to thirty years in
    prison as a habitual offender. Subsequently, by way of application for writ of
    habeas corpus, Applicant claimed that his thirty-year sentence was illegal because
    it had been improperly enhanced by the 2007 California conviction. Ex parte Pue,
    No. WR-85,447-01, 2018 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 63, at *1 (Crim. App. Feb. 28,
    2018). While addressing that issue, by order dated November 1, 2017, this Court
    noted that further briefing would be useful and invited both parties to provide this
    Court with legal and policy arguments as to whether, for purposes of punishment
    enhancement in a Texas prosecution, the "finality" of an out-of-state conviction
    should be determined in accordance with the law of the foreign jurisdiction or in
    accordance with Texas law. 
    Id. at *3.
    Ultimately, this Court held that whether
    Applicant's 2007 California conviction could have been used as a punishment
    enhancement in California did not control whether it was available for use as a
    punishment enhancement in Applicant's Texas prosecution. This Court further
    held that whether a prior conviction—in-state or out-of-state—is "final" under
    Texas Penal Code § 12.42 is to be determined in accordance with Texas law. 
    Id. at *3-4.
    As a result, this Court found that Applicant's sentence was improperly
    enhanced by the 2007 California conviction and granted relief. 
    Id. at *2.
    However,
    in reaching that conclusion, this Court noted that in its supplemental briefing the
    State had argued that most other state and federal courts consider probated
    sentences to be final convictions and stated, "We have not been asked to change
    our longstanding Texas rule on this issue nor are we persuaded that we should do
    so on our own motion." 
    Id. at *5.
    In this motion for rehearing, the State now respectfully asks this Honorable
    Court to do exactly that, to find that a probated conviction is a "final" conviction
    under Texas law and deny relief to Applicant.
    History ofthe View That a Suspended or
    Probated Sentence Is Not a Final Conviction
    As this Court recognized in its original opinion, there are numerous cases
    dating back almost one hundred years that seem to stand for the proposition that a
    probated sentence is not a "final" conviction for purposes of enhancement under
    Texas law.    Although this proposition might seem well established and
    unquestionable on its face, a review of its origins reflects that the basis for this
    proposition ceased to exist many years ago. The earliest case cited by this Court
    was the 1919 opinion rendered in Brittian v. State, 
    214 S.W. 351
    (Tex. Crim. App.
    1919). See Ex parte Pue, 2018 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 63 at *5. However,
    Brittian cites back to a case decided the previous month, Ex parte Coots, 
    212 S.W. 173
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1919).
    In Coots, a jury had convicted the defendant of a felony and sentenced him
    to a term of three years in the penitentiary. 
    Id. at 173.
    However, at the same time,
    the jury gave the defendant the benefit of a suspended sentence. 
    Id. Three and
    a
    half years later, the defendant was charged with another felony. 
    Id. The defendant
    was convicted and sentenced for that subsequent felony. 
    Id. Additionally, when
    the trial court entered judgment upon the subsequent felony, the court also found
    that the defendant had forfeited the suspension of the sentence for the former
    conviction, sentenced the defendant for that offense, and cumulated that sentence
    with the sentence imposed for the subsequent offense. 
    Id. By way
    of a writ of
    habeas corpus, the defendant challenged the revocation of his suspended sentence
    for his first felony conviction because its term had expired prior to his commission
    of the second felony. 
    Id. Thus, a
    review of the facts in Coots makes it clear that the
    use of a prior conviction for purposes of enhancement was not the issue before the
    Court. Instead, in Coots, the Court of Criminal appeals was merely asked to decide
    if a suspended sentence could be revoked after its term had expired. 
    Id. Although the
    finality of a probated sentence used for enhancement was not
    the issue faced by the Court in Coots, the Court's opinion in Coots does explain
    where the doctrine that a conviction wherein the sentence was suspended was not
    final originated. In the opinion, the Court explained that Article 865c, Vernon's
    Criminal Statutes, provided that where a suspended sentence was awarded,
    "neither the verdict of conviction nor the judgment entered thereon shall become
    final, except under the conditions and in the manner and at the time provided for
    by section 4 of this Act." 
    Id. at 173-74.
    Article 865d, Vernon's Criminal Statutes
    further provided that:
    When sentence is suspended the judgment of the court on that subject
    shall be that sentence of the judgment of conviction shall be
    suspended during the good behavior of the defendant. By the term
    'good behavior' is meant that the defendant shall not be convicted of
    any felony during the time of such suspension.
    
    Id. at 174.
    Additionally, Section 4 of said act as referred to in Article 865c was
    found set out in Article 865e, Vernon's Criminal Statutes. It provided that:
    Upon the final conviction of the defendant of any other felony,
    pending the suspension of sentence, the court granting such
    suspension shall cause a capias to issue for the arrest of the
    defendant, if he is not then in the custody of such court, and upon the
    execution of a capias, and during a term of the court shall pronounce
    sentence upon the original judgment of conviction, and shall
    cumulate the punishment of the first with the punishment of any
    subsequent conviction or convictions, and in such cases no new trial
    shall be granted in the first conviction.
    
    Id. Based on
    this statutory scheme, as cited by the Court in Coots, it becomes clear
    that a conviction where the sentence was suspended was not a final conviction
    because the legislature said so by way of a specific statute in Article 865c,
    Vernon's Criminal Statutes. Basically, if a defendant was convicted of another
    felony during the period of suspension, his suspended sentence was revoked and
    he forfeited all benefits of such suspension. It was only then that his conviction
    became "final." 
    Id. at 173-74.
    The State's "Suspended Sentence Law" cited by the Court in Coots was
    enacted by the Legislature1 and unofficially codified as Articles 865b through 865i
    of the 1911 Code. See Vernon's Criminal Statutes of Texas (1916). Throughout
    the years, Articles 865b through 865i were revised and moved on a number of
    1See Acts 1913, 33rd Leg., p. 8, ch. 7, available athttp://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/33R
    /SB5/SB5_33R.pdf#page=l .
    7
    occasions. Eventually, the "Suspended Sentence Law" became what is today
    known as Article 42.12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Through those
    many revisions, the Legislature eventually dropped the language found in Article
    865c which stated that "neither the verdict of conviction nor the judgment entered
    This statute was first enacted by the Legislature in 1911. See, Acts 1911, 32nd Leg., p. 67, ch.
    44. In that year, the fourth revision of our Code of Criminal Procedure was also passed, and
    consequently, the new law was not assigned an official place in the revised Code. In 1912, the
    Act was declared unconstitutional by this Court in Snodgrass v. State, 
    150 S.W. 162
    (1912) and
    Snodgrass v. State, 
    150 S.W. 178
    (1912). A substantially revised version was, therefore,
    reenacted a year later (Acts 1913, 33rd Leg., p. 8, ch. 7), and unofficially codified as Articles
    865b through 865i of the 1911 Code. See Vernon's Criminal Statutes of Texas (1916). The
    constitutionality of this Act was upheld the same year in Baker v. State, 
    158 S.W. 998
    (1913).
    When the Code of Criminal Procedure was again revised in 1925, the Legislature officially
    codified the "Suspended Sentence Law" as Articles 776 through 781, and authorized the new
    Code to be published under a separate cover with the revised Penal Code. See Acts 1925, 39th
    Leg., p. 282, ch. 104, available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/39R/SB382/SB382
    _39R.pdf#page=12 . Article 776a was added in 1931 (Acts 1931, 42nd Leg., p. 65, ch. 43, § 4,
    available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/42R/SB53/SB53_42R.pdf#page=21) and
    Articles 777 and 779 were amended in 1941. See Acts 1941, 47th Leg., p. 1334, ch. 602,
    available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/47R/SB 127/SB127_47R.pdf#page=l 3 .
    In 1947, the first "Adult Probation and Parole Law" passed the Legislature, without repealing the
    "Suspended Sentence Law" (Acts 1947, 50th Leg., p. 1049, ch. 452, available at
    http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/50R/HB120/HB120_50R.pdf#page=100),                  and     was
    unofficially codified as Article 781b in Vernon's Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (1925).
    Section 17 of the Act was repealed in 1953. See Acts 1953, 53rd Leg., p. 489, ch. 175, § 2,
    available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/53R/SB217/SB217_53R.pdf#page=ll). Four
    years later, the "Adult Probation and Parole Law of 1957" repealed and replaced the 1947 Act, as
    amended, but again expressly exempted from repeal the "Suspended Sentence Law." See Acts
    1957, 55th Leg., p. 466, ch. 226, available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/55R/SB154
    /SB154_55R.pdf#page=119. This statute was then codified unofficially as Article 781d of
    Vernon's Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (1925). The Act was then further amended in 1959.
    See Acts 1959, 56th Leg., p. 1081, ch. 492, § 1, available at http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS
    /56R/HB581/HB581_56R.pdf#page=l 1 . Finally, as a part of the current revision of the Code of
    Criminal Procedure, the "Adult Probation and Parole Act of 1957," as amended, was officially
    codified as Art. 42.12 of the Code. See Acts 1965, 59th Leg., vol. 2, p. 317, ch. 722, available at
    http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/LASDOCS/59R/SB 107/SB107_59R.pdf#page=840 . Also at this time,
    the "Suspended Sentence Law" was deleted from the statutes by a general repealer section. Since
    1965, Art. 42.12 has been amended by the Legislature more than 50 times.
    8
    thereon shall become final, except under the conditions and in the manner and at
    the time provided for by section 4 of this Act."
    It is a general rule of statutory construction that when the legislature amends
    a particular statute and omits certain language of the former statute in its amended
    version, the legislature specifically intended that the omitted portion is no longer
    the law. Every word excluded from a statute must be presumed to have been
    excluded for a reason. Morrison v. Chan, 
    699 S.W.2d 205
    , 208 (Tex. 1985). In
    enacting an amendment the Legislature is presumed to have changed the law, and
    a construction should be adopted that gives effect to the intended change, rather
    than one that renders the amendment useless. Ex parte Trahan, 
    591 S.W.2d 837
    ,
    842 (Tex. Crim. App. 1979). However, although the statutory language providing
    that a conviction wherein the sentence is suspended in not "final" has long been
    omitted from the law, Texas Courts have stubbornly continued to hold that a
    probated judgment is not "final" and, therefore, cannot be used for purposes of
    enhancement.
    An excellent discussion of the reasons why a probated conviction should
    now be considered "final" was provided by Judge Teague in his dissenting opinion
    in Ex parte Renter. 1987 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 742, *59-63, 
    734 S.W.2d 349
    (Tex Crim. App. 1987) (Teague, J., dissenting). Judge Teague noted that, under
    the "Suspended Sentence Law," this Court had "consistently held that there is no
    appeal from a suspended sentence because it is not a final judgment from which an
    appeal may be taken." 
    Id. (citing Lamkin
    v. State, 
    138 Tex. Crim. 311
    , 
    136 S.W.2d 225
    (1940)). Instead, a judgment became final and appealable only if and when
    the suspended sentence was revoked. Judge Teague explained that this procedure
    caused long delays between the trial of a cause and its appeal, subjecting the
    ultimate validity of a conviction to direct review years after it had been entered,
    and to considerable uncertainty during the interim. As a result, the Legislature
    eventually acted to remove that uncertainty when the Adult Probation and Parole
    Law, Art. 781b, Vernon's Texas Code of Criminal Procedure (1925), was enacted.
    At that time, the Legislature expressly provided that a probationer could appeal his
    conviction at the time he was placed on probation.
    Subsequently, in Gossett v. State, this Court held that it was lawful for the
    Legislature to provide for the appeal of a conviction prior to the pronouncement or
    imposition of sentence. 
    282 S.W.2d 59
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1955). Judge Teague
    noted that, since that opinion, no probationer had been denied the right to appeal a
    judgment of conviction against him upon the ground that such a conviction was
    3Superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in Ex parte Ramirez, No. 08-13-00194-CR,
    2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 499, at *5 (App.—El Paso Jan. 15, 2014).
    10
    not final until his probation had been revoked. Renter, 1987 Tex. Crim. App.
    LEXIS 742 at *60-61. However, he also recognized that in a line of cases
    beginning with Fetters v. State (
    1 S.W.2d 312
    , 313 (Tex. Crim. App. 1927)), this
    Court had held that a defendant's punishment could not be enhanced with a prior
    suspended sentence based upon the notion that an unappealable conviction was
    not yet final. He explained that Article 42.12, Sec. 8(b), V.A.C.C.P., and
    Tex.R.App.Proc. 41(b)(1), provided that a judgment of conviction was fully
    complete in the trial court, and thus appealable, even if the imposition of sentence
    had been suspended. 
    Id. at *54-55.
    Therefore, unlike under the prior Suspended
    Sentence Law, the judgment of conviction was not prevented from becoming
    "final" in the sense contemplated by Fetters. He then stated, "[nevertheless, for
    reasons not apparent on the face of our more recent opinions, we have continued
    to cite Fetters for the long obsolete proposition that an ordinary probationer has
    not yet been finally convicted." 
    Id. at *63.
    It is also notable that Texas is not the only state whose law has followed this
    pattern of evolution. It appears that the laws of Pennsylvania followed a similar
    progression. In Commonwealth ex rel. Trotter, v. Hendrick, the defendant argued
    that the suspended sentence imposed for his earlier offense did not satisfy the strict
    legal definition of the word "conviction" to make him subject to a greater penalty
    as a second or subsequent offender. 
    177 A.2d 162
    , 163 (Pa. Super. 1962).
    11
    Addressing that argument, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania noted that although
    at common law and in present day common parlance a person is considered
    convicted when he enters a plea of guilt or a jury returns a guilty verdict, in many
    cases - including cases where punishment is being increased due to a previous
    conviction - something more is necessary to identify an accused as a convicted
    offender. The Court recognized that the purpose served by requiring something
    more than a plea of guilty or a verdict of guilty was to assure an accused a final
    determination of his guilt before he was thereafter subjected to exceptional or
    enhanced penalties based on such conviction. The Court also noted that earlier
    decisions held that this could not be accomplished when the imposition of
    sentence was suspended and the person placed on probation, because for many
    years it was the practice to quash appeals taken from suspended sentences as they
    were deemed to be interlocutory. However, in Commonwealth v. Elias, the
    Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recognized that an accused whose trial resulted in
    a suspended sentence and probation might never be able to establish his
    innocence, however erroneous the verdict against him might be. 
    149 A.2d 53
    , 54-
    55 (1959). As a result, the Supreme Court held that persons who had received a
    suspended sentence and been placed on probation were also to be afforded a right
    of appeal. 
    Id. In Commonwealth
    ex rel. Trotter v. Hendrick, the Superior Court
    explained that, after the decision in Commonwealth v. Elias, an accused was
    12
    entitled to have the propriety of his "conviction" determined without his probation
    ever having been revoked. As a result, the Court concluded that the suspended
    sentence imposed for the defendant's earlier offense had properly been used to
    subject him to a greater penalty as a second or subsequent offender.
    Commonwealth ex rel. Trotter v. Hendrick, ill A.2d 162, 163-164 (Pa. Super.
    1962).
    Purposes ofthe Penal Code Generally and Recidivism Statutes
    Specifically
    The Texas Penal Code specifically provides that its provisions "are
    intended, and shall be construed, to achieve the following objectives: (1) to insure
    the public safety through: (A) the deterrent influence of the penalties hereinafter
    provided; (B) the rehabilitation of those convicted of violations of this code; and
    (C) such punishment as may be necessary to prevent likely recurrence of criminal
    behavior." Tex. Penal Code § 1.02. The Texas Penal Code also provides that the
    rule that a penal statute is to be strictly construed does not apply to it. Instead, it
    specifically states that, "The provisions of this code shall be construed according
    to the fair import of their terms, to promote justice and effect the objectives of the
    code." Tex. Penal Code §1.05.
    Under a recidivist statute, a sentence is "based not merely on that person's
    most recent offense but also on the propensities he has demonstrated over a period
    13
    of time during which he has been convicted of and sentenced for other crimes."
    Rummel v. Estelle, 
    445 U.S. 263
    , 284 (1980). A state with a recidivist statute is not
    required to treat a defendant as if an offense was his first but is entitled to place
    upon the defendant "the onus of one who is simply unable to bring his conduct
    within the social norms prescribed by the criminal law of the State." 
    Id. at 284.
    "[The] primary goals [of a recidivist statute] are to deter repeat offenders and, at
    some point in the life of one who repeatedly commits criminal offenses serious
    enough to be punished as felonies, to segregate that person from the rest of society
    for an extended period of time." 
    Id. Within the
    Texas Penal Code, there are several
    recidivist statutes that provide for more harsh punishments for those who have
    previously violated the law. See Tex. Penal Code §12.42 and §12.43. This Court
    has specifically recognized that the legislative purpose behind §12.42 is to "punish
    more harshly persons who repeatedly commit crime." Jordan v. State, 
    256 S.W.3d 286
    , 293 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).
    A defendant who has repeatedly committed felonies, pled or been found
    guilty of committing those crimes, and been placed on community supervision has
    certainly repeatedly committed crimes. The fact that such a defendant has been
    given the benefit of suspended or probated sentences does nothing to change the
    fact that they have chosen to repeatedly violate the law. Considering the objectives
    of the Penal Code in general and our recidivist statutes specifically, it seems
    14
    obvious that requiring such a suspended or probated sentences to be revoked
    before the defendant's convictions are considered "final" under §12.42 does not
    further those objectives. It would "simply beg logic and common sense to say that
    a person adjudicated guilty of an offense who is fined, ordered imprisoned, with
    execution 'suspended'. .. has not been convicted" for purposes of forming a
    predicate offense under the habitual offender statute. Whiteman v. State, 
    846 A.2d 239
    (Del. 2004). Thus, a clear majority of the other states (and the federal system)
    consider convictions wherein a defendant receives a suspended or probated
    sentence to be "final" and allow for such convictions to be used to enhance the
    penalties imposed for subsequent offenses.4
    4See, e.g., Alabama {Johnson v. State, 
    398 So. 2d 393
    , 399 (Ala. Crim. App. 1981)), Alaska
    {Shaw v. State, 
    673 P.2d 781
    , 786 (Alaska App. 1983)), Arizona {State v. Robison, 
    408 P.2d 29
    (1965)), Arkansas {Rolark v. State, 
    772 S.W.2d 588
    (1989)), California {People v. Banks, 
    348 P.2d 102
    (1959), People v. Balderas, 
    711 P.2d 480
    (1985)), Delaware {Wehde v. State, 
    983 A.2d 82
    (Del. 2009)), Florida {State v. Richardson, 
    915 So. 2d 86
    (Fla. 2005)), Georgia {Bennett v.
    State, 
    208 S.E.2d 181
    (1974)), Hawai'i (Haw. Rev. Stat. Ann § 706-666 (West, Westlaw through
    2017 1st S.S.) (commentary notes suspended sentence is immaterial)), Indiana (Ind. Code Ann.
    § 35-50-2-8 (West, Westlaw through 2017) (it appears probation does not preclude use of the
    Indiana "prior"conviction)), Iowa {State v. Ueding, 
    400 N.W.2d 550
    (Iowa 1987)), Kansas
    {State v. Robertson, 
    592 P.2d 460
    , 463 (1979)), Kentucky {Winn v. Commonwealth, Ky., 
    303 S.W.2d 275
    (1957)), Louisiana (La. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 893 (West, Westlaw through
    2017 S.E.S.), Michigan {People v. Funk, 
    33 N.W.2d 95
    (1948); People v. Justice, 
    550 N.W.2d 562
    , 567 (1996)), Mississippi {Green v. State, 
    802 So. 2d 181
    , 183 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001) (one of
    two enhancement statutes does not require actual incarceration); Davis v. State, 
    5 So. 3d 435
    , 441
    (Miss. Ct. App. 2008)), Missouri {State v. Whipple, 
    501 S.W.3d 507
    , 522 (Mo. Ct. App. 2016)),
    New Jersey {State v. McCall, 
    99 A.2d 153
    (App. Div. 1953), reversed on another point, 
    103 A.2d 376
    (1954); N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:44-4 (West, Westlaw through 2017)), New Mexico {State
    v. Larranaga, 
    424 P.2d 804
    , 805 (1967)), Oregon {State v. Glenn, 
    420 P.2d 60
    (1966)),
    Pennsylvania {Com. ex rel. Trotter v. Hendrick, 
    177 A.2d 162
    , 164 (1962)), Rhode Island
    15
    ARGUMENTS
    It is clear that the concept that a conviction followed by a suspended
    sentence is not "final" and, therefore, unavailable to enhance or increase the
    punishment for subsequent offenses is contrary to the basic purposes of recidivist
    statutes. Furthermore, the statutory basis for concluding that a conviction with a
    suspended sentence is not "final" was long ago removed by the Texas Legislature.
    Although Texas Courts have long failed to recognize that significant change in the
    law and continued to hold that a probated conviction is unavailable for purposes of
    enhancement, "[t]he rule of stare decisis, has but little application in criminal
    jurisprudence, and ought to have none when wrong and tending to overturn the
    plainly written law. Adjudicated error persisted in cannot make truth of that error."
    Cline v. State, 
    36 S.W. 1099
    , 1099 (Tex. Crim. App. 1896).
    When the legislature amended the statutes governing suspended sentences
    and omitted the language of the former statute stating that, "neither the verdict of
    conviction nor the judgment entered thereon shall become final, except under the
    conditions and in the manner and at the time provided for by section 4 of this Act"
    {State v. Burke, 
    811 A.2d 1158
    , 1167 (R.I. 2002)), South Carolina {State v. Sosbee, 
    637 S.E.2d 571
    , 574 (Ct. App. 2006); State v. Spratt, 2013-UP-186, 
    2013 WL 8508095
    , at *1 (S.C. Ct. App.
    May 8, 2013) (not designated for publication)), South Dakota {Whitepipe v. Weber, 
    536 F. Supp. 2d 1070
    , 1090 (D.S.D. 2007)), Washington {State v. Braithwaite, 
    600 P.2d 1260
    (1979),
    overruled on other grounds, 
    670 P.2d 256
    (1983); State v. Carlyle, 
    576 P.2d 408
    , 412-13
    (1978)), Wisconsin (Wis. Stat. Ann. § 939.62(2) (West, Westlaw through 2017)); see also
    Federal System {Davis v. Estelle, 
    502 F.2d 523
    , 524 (5th Cir. 1974)).
    16
    in its amended version, the legislature specifically intended that the omitted
    portion was no longer the law. Morrison v. 
    Chan, 699 S.W.2d at 208
    . For these
    reasons, this Court should hold that convictions with suspended or probated
    sentences are "final" and may be used for purposes of enhancement.
    PRAYER FOR RELIEF
    For all the foregoing reasons, the State respectfully prays that this
    Honorable Court grant rehearing in this matter, hold that pursuant to Texas law a
    probated or suspended sentence is "final" for purposes of enhancement, and deny
    relief to the Applicant.
    Respectfully submitted,
    Isi Sammy McCrary
    Sammy McCrary
    Chief Felony Prosecutor
    Comal County, Texas
    T.B.C No. 90001990
    150 N. Seguin Ave., Suite 307
    New Braunfels, Texas 78130
    (830)221-1300
    (830) 608-2008 (FAX)
    Email: mccras@co.comal.tx..us
    Attorney for the State
    17
    CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 9.4
    I hereby certify that this document complies with the requirements of Tex.
    R. App. Proc. 9.4(i)(2)(D) because there are 4,163 (a number less than 4,500)
    words in this document, excluding the portions of the document excepted from the
    word count under rule 9.4(i)(l), as calculated by the MS Word computer program
    used to prepare it. The document was prepared in proportionally-spaced typeface
    using Times New Roman 14 for text and Times New Roman 12 for footnotes.
    /s/ Sammy McCrary
    Sammy McCrary
    Chief Felony Prosecutor
    Comal County, Texas
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
    I hereby certify that on April 16l , 2018, a true and correct copy of the
    foregoing Motion for Rehearing was delivered by electronic mail to:
    John C. Moncure
    John.Moncure@tdcj .texas.gov
    P.O. Box 4005
    Huntsville, TX 77342-4005
    Fax:(512)406-5960
    Attorney for Applicant
    At the forgoing email address through efile.txcourts.gov.
    /s/ Sammy McCrary
    Sammy McCrary
    Chief Felony Prosecutor
    Comal County, Texas
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