# Smith v. State

> Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas · January 21, 1970 · 450 S.W.2d 618

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9653716

## Case

- **Full name:** Bennie Lee SMITH, Appellant, v. the STATE of Texas, Appellee
- **Court:** Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
- **Decided:** January 21, 1970
- **Citations:** 450 S.W.2d 618; 1970 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1366
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Morrison
- **Judges:** Morrison, Woodley
- **Cited by:** 9 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9653716

## Opinion text

MORRISON, Judge
(concurring).
I concur with the affirmance of this conviction, but respectfully dissent to the gratuitous overruling of the opinion of this Court in Urban v. State, supra. That case was concerned with an entirely different question than that which is presented here. In Urban, it was incumbent upon the State to show that Urban had, within a year prior to the return of the indictment, thrice committed the same offense. This constituted an essential element of the offense of engaging in the business of bookmaking, Article 652a, Section 2, V.A.P.C. The State relied alone upon the indictment to prove such fact, and this Court held such proof to be insufficient.
In the case at bar (an Article 63, V.A. P.C., conviction), there was ample evidence as to the date of the commission of the prior offense alleged for enhancement.
A prior conviction is a historical fact. The proof of the commission of an offense is quite another thing.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9653716. Public record. Not legal advice.