Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1972 )


Menu:
  •                   E   ~%TTORB~EP       GENERAL
    OF%%CXAS
    February 25, 19 2
    :
    Honorable W. G. Woods, Jr.           Opinion No. M-1071
    District Attorney
    Liberty County                       Re:    Entry of Judgment in
    P. 0. BOX 431                               Criminal Cases
    Liberty, Texas 77575
    Dear Mr. Woods:
    This is in response to your recent inquiry in which you
    posed the following two questions:
    1. Does the law require separate forms or
    drafts of judgments and sentences to be prepared
    for approval and signature of the trial court in
    felony cases separate and apart from the entry of
    the court's pronouncement of judgments and sentences
    in the minutes and the court's signature certifying
    to the minutes at the end of the term?
    2. If your answer to my first question is
    affirmative, then whose duty is it to prepare
    such drafts of judgments and sentences for the
    court's approval and signature?
    Article 37.12, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, provides:
    "On each verdict of acquittal or conviction, the
    proper judgment shall be entered immediately. . ."
    Article 42.01, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, defines
    a judgmemt as "- D o the declaration of the Court entered of
    record. . *"
    Article 42.02, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, defines
    sentence as follows:
    "A 'sentence' is the order of the court in a felony
    or misdemeanor case made in the presence of the defendant,
    except in misdemeanor cases where the maximum possible
    -5250-
    Honorable W. G. Woods, Jr., page 2 (M-1071)
    punishment is by fine only, and entered of record, pro-
    nouncing the judgment, and ordering the same to be
    carried into execution in the manner prescribed by law."
    Unlike the procedure in civil cases contained in Rules
    300 through 314, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Code of
    Criminal Procedure is silent concerning the necessity of a
    separate written judgment and sentence in criminal cases.
    Review of the decisions of the Court of Criminal Appeals also
    reveals nothing determinate of whether the judgment of the
    Court may be announced orally and subsequently "entered" in
    the written record or must be first reduced to writing and
    signed by the Judse and then entered into the record. In
    Barber v; State, 
    374 S.W.2d 246
    , (Tex.Crim. 1964), the Court
    stated:
    "While the action of the Clerk of the County
    Court in waiting as long as a year before performing
    the ministerial act of entering the judgment into
    the minutes of the Court is not to be condoned, we
    cannot agree that reversible error has been committed.
    The better practice seems to be to enter the judgment
    contemporaneously with its pronouncement, but delay
    in making the entry will not invalidate the judgment
    where no injury is shown to have resulted to the
    appellant." (Emphasis added.)
    Although this case makes it clear that the actual entry
    of the judgment in the minutes of the Court is an obligatory
    duty of the Clerk, it apparently remains discretionary with
    the Court whether or not he should direct the clerk to also
    prepare separate written judgments and sentences to be filed
    among the papers in each cause. We find no authority for
    requiring counsel for the State (or the Defendant) to prepare
    such written documents.
    SUMMARY
    In criminal cases it is discretionary with
    the Court whether judgments and sentences shall
    be announced orally and subsequently entered by
    the clerk or prepared in writing by the clerk
    -5251-
    I
    ,
    Honorable W. G. Woods, Jr., page 3   (M-1071)
    and signed before being entered in the minutes.
    eneral of Texas
    Prepared by Howard M. Fender
    Assistant Attorney General
    APPROvED:
    OPINION COMMITTEES
    Kerns Taylor, Chairman
    W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman
    Bob Lattimore
    Barton Boling
    Gilbert Pena
    Dunklin Sullivan
    SAMUEL D. BCDANIEL
    Staff Legal Assistant
    ALFRED WALKER
    Executive Assistant
    NOLA WHITE
    First Assistant
    -5252-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: M-1071

Judges: Crawford Martin

Filed Date: 7/2/1972

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017