| 1 | 1 | | By: Phillips H.B. No. 4538 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the rendering of a judgment and sentence in the absence |
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| 7 | 7 | | of certain defendants charged with certain misdemeanors. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Article 42.14, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 10 | 10 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Art. 42.14. IN ABSENCE OF DEFENDANT. (a) Notwithstanding |
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| 12 | 12 | | any other law, in a misdemeanor case, the [The] judgment and |
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| 13 | 13 | | sentence [in a misdemeanor case] may be rendered in the absence of |
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| 14 | 14 | | the defendant if: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) the defendant is imprisoned in a penal |
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| 16 | 16 | | institution; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) the defendant in writing before a court having |
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| 18 | 18 | | jurisdiction in the county where the defendant is imprisoned: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (A) waives the right to be present at the |
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| 20 | 20 | | rendering of the judgment and sentence or to have counsel present; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (B) affirms that the defendant does not have |
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| 22 | 22 | | anything to say as to why the sentence should not be pronounced and |
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| 23 | 23 | | that there is no reason to prevent sentence under Article 42.07; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (C) states that the defendant has entered into a |
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| 25 | 25 | | written plea agreement with the attorney representing the state in |
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| 26 | 26 | | the prosecution of the case; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | (D) requests the judge to pronounce sentence in |
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| 28 | 28 | | the case in accordance with the plea agreement; |
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| 29 | 29 | | (3) the defendant and the attorney representing the |
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| 30 | 30 | | state in the prosecution of the case have entered into a written |
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| 31 | 31 | | plea agreement that is made a part of the record in the case; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (4) sentence is pronounced in accordance with the plea |
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| 33 | 33 | | agreement. |
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| 34 | 34 | | (c) In this article, "penal institution" has the meaning |
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| 35 | 35 | | assigned by Section 1.07, Penal Code. |
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| 36 | 36 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 37 | 37 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 38 | 38 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 39 | 39 | | governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, |
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| 40 | 40 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 41 | 41 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 42 | 42 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was |
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| 43 | 43 | | committed before that date. |
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| 44 | 44 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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