Houston Criminal Defense Attorney - Brian Foley - Board Certified in Criminal Law.
There are many parts of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure that very few people know about. This is one of them. Typically only jail staff and District Attorney personnel are aware of this particular notice requirement. The Texas Department of Public Safety is responsible for the assembling and reporting of criminal history information to the national database run by the FBI.
Article 2.023 only applies to defendants who has previously been convicted of what used to be called 3G offenses or an offense with a deadly weapon finding and have been to prison. In the case of individuals with a prior pen trip for a 3G offense (This is lawyer lingo for what I just mentioned) then the District Attorney's Office has to notify the Texas Department of Public Safety not later than the 10th day after indicting a defendant like this for a new felony offense of similar 3G status.
The New code provision for 3G is 42A.054 (a) (c) and (d).
These offenses are in most instances Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Sexual Assault, and Murder although there is a laundry list of other offenses.
Art. 2.023. NOTIFICATION TO TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE. (a) This article applies only to a defendant who, in connection with a previous conviction for an offense listed in Article 42A.054(a) or for which the judgment contains an affirmative finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d): (1) received a sentence that included imprisonment at a facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; and (2) was subsequently released from the imprisonment, including a release on parole, to mandatory supervision, or following discharge of the defendant's sentence. (b) Not later than the 10th day after the date that a defendant described by Subsection (a) is indicted for an offense listed in Article 42A.054(a) or for which the judgment contains an affirmative finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d), the attorney representing the state shall notify an officer designated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of the offense charged in the indictment. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 772 (H.B. 104), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.
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