Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Elmer Ray Jordan, Appellant v. the State of Texas
June 18, 20082008 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 753
Summary
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the Court of Appeals' decision that a harm analysis is inappropriate when the State fails to prove the required chronological sequence of prior convictions for a habitual felony enhancement under Tex. Penal Code §12.42(d). The Court held that the State's evidentiary insufficiency constitutes a reversible error, affirming the judgment and remanding for a new punishment hearing. Justice Keller dissented, arguing that such errors should be automatically reversible without a harm analysis.