Article V, Section 4 of the Texas Constitution ("Court of Criminal Appeals; Judges")
As amended November 6, 2001:
(a) The Court of Criminal Appeals shall consist of eight Judges and one Presiding Judge. The Judges shall have the same qualifications and receive the same salaries as the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, and the Presiding Judge shall have the same qualifications and receive the same salary as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Presiding Judge and the Judges shall be elected by the qualified voters of the state at a general election and shall hold their offices for a term of six years.
(b) For the purpose of hearing cases, the Court of Criminal Appeals may sit in panels of three Judges, the designation thereof to be under rules established by the court. In a panel of three Judges, two Judges shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of two Judges shall be necessary for a decision. The Presiding Judge, under rules established by the court, shall convene the court en banc for the transaction of all other business and may convene the court en banc for the purpose of hearing cases. The court must sit en banc during proceedings involving capital punishment and other cases as required by law. When convened en banc, five Judges shall constitute a quorum and the concurrence of five Judges shall be necessary for a decision. The Court of Criminal Appeals may appoint Commissioners in aid of the Court of Criminal Appeals as provided by law.
Editor Comments
The Court of Criminal Appeals, the court of last resort in Texas for criminal matters, was established in 1891. It originally had three judges. The number was increased to five in 1966 and finally to nine in 1977.
For insight into whether the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals should be merged into one court, review the following article: Bifurcated Appellate Review: The Texas Story of Two High Courts.
Recent Decisions
None.
Historic Decisions
- Coombs v. State, 44 S.W. 854, 861 (Tex.Crim.App. 1898) ("Another purpose of the amendment was to abolish the court of appeals. It would hardly be maintained now that such a court as the 'court of appeals' has an existence in Texas, or that one could be created by legislative enactment. That court was repealed by the amended constitution of 1891, as were corporation courts by the constitution of 1869. Another object of the amendment of 1891 was to create the present court of criminal appeals, with jurisdiction only of appeals in criminal causes. Before the amendment the court of appeals had appellate jurisdiction as well in civil as in criminal cases.")
Library Resources
- Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)
- The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
- The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)
Online Resources
- Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)
- Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)
- Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)