Lang v. Texas

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Appellant Terri Lang challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support her conviction after she was caught attempting to steal items from a grocery store. The issue in this case was whether the statute defining the offense of organized retail theft permitted a conviction for ordinary shoplifting by a single actor. On direct appeal, appellant contended that her conduct in engaging in ordinary shoplifting, by herself and without the cooperation of others, could not, as a matter of law, properly give rise to a conviction for organized retail theft. The court of appeals rejected her argument, concluding that the statutory language plainly permitted a conviction under these circumstances. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed with the court of appeals’ conclusion that the organized retail theft statute plainly permitted a conviction for this type of conduct, and instead held based on its analysis of the ambiguous statutory language, viewed in light of the statute’s extensive legislative history, that this statute did not apply to the conduct of an ordinary shoplifter acting alone. Because the facts in this case showed appellant did not engage in any conduct beyond committing ordinary shoplifting by herself, the Court vacated her conviction for organized retail theft. The matter was remanded to the court of for it to consider, in the first instance, whether the judgment should be reformed to any lesser included offense. View "Lang v. Texas" on Justia Law