Shortt v. Texas

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Appellant Bernard Shortt attempted to appeal an order granting him so-called “shock” community supervision under former Article 42.12, Section 6(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In that attempted appeal, he sought to challenge a condition of community supervision imposed in the order that required him to make restitution payments. Though the State agreed that the trial court’s order was erroneous in this regard, the court of appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. It held, in an unpublished opinion, that “there is no statutory authority which confers jurisdiction upon an appellate court to consider an appeal from an order imposing shock probation[.]” The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Appellant’s petition for discretionary review in order to address whether an appellant may appeal an order granting “shock” community supervision. “Given our apparent willingness to read [Code of Criminal Procedure] Section 23(b) to embrace an appeal of the conditions of community supervision from an original judgment that suspends imposition of sentence, thereby ‘plac[ing the defendant] on community supervision[,]’ there is no compelling reason we should not also be willing to construe it to authorize an appeal of the conditions of community supervision from a later order granting ‘shock’ community supervision—an order that suspends the execution of sentence, but just as assuredly ‘place[s the defendant] on community supervision.’” The judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellant’s appeal was vacated and the case was remanded to that court for further proceedings. View "Shortt v. Texas" on Justia Law