Aaron Wade Stine, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals held that Texas Constitution Art. V, §7 is a jurisdictional, non‑waivable mandate requiring district court proceedings to be held at the county seat, and therefore the trial court erred in holding part of the trial at a hospital. Because the violation is jurisdictional, no harmless‑error analysis is applicable and the conviction stands. Two dissenting opinions argue that statutory provisions allow such a departure and that the parties waived the right, while a concurring opinion agrees with the result but critiques the dissenters' reasoning.