Callins v. State

CLINTON, Judge,

concurring.

In the distinctly unusual posture of things in these causes, truly there is no extant precedent directly in point. Essentially, the opinions of the Court engage in an analysis of germane constitutional and statutory provisions to conclude that there has been a misjoinder of offense, such that “the trial court was required to sustain .appellant’s request for election,” and that “ ‘case’ equals conviction for a single offense [so that] convictions and sentences for separate offenses ... are considered separate ‘cases’ [for purposes of prescribing jurisdiction on direct appeal].” While harboring some reservations, mainly about incidental observations made along the way and what may be less than complete examination of the meaning of “case,” I join the opinions.¹

1 . In Cause No. 69,023, for example, there are allusions to "ambiguities" in prior applications of the concept of “transactions." In Causes Nos. 0069-85 and 0070-85, for another, the conclusion seems further supported by the fact that "criminal case” and "criminal action" are used interchangeably throughout the Code of Criminal Procedure, the latter ordinarily understood to be a "criminal prosecution" seeking to determine guilt or innocence of one accused of a penal offense. See generally, Kemper v. State, 63 Tex.Cr.R. 1, 138 S.W. 1025, 1038-1039 (1911).