Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued – Week of July 21, 2008

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

Dornbusch v. State,   No. 02-07-00297-CR   (July 24, 2008)   (Gardner, J., joined by Walker, J.; McCoy, J., concurs with opinion).  [Note: Both opinions are at the same link in one document.]

Held:   The evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support the trial court's finding that Appellant "operated" his vehicle while intoxicated where Appellant's vehicle was found in the back of a restaurant's parking lot with the headlights on, the engine running, the radio playing loudly, Appellant sitting in the driver's seat either asleep or passed out, and there was testimony indicating that the vehicle was not in park and that the only thing keeping the vehicle from moving was the curb. Also, the Texas Constitution makes it unlawful for a reviewing court to declare the DWI statute void on the basis that the statute's provision of "operating" exceeds the scope of its title, "Driving While Intoxicated."

Concurrence: For the officer to find the car's transmission in a non-"park" position, Appellant had to have engaged the car's transmission. This constituted "operating" the vehicle under section 49.04 of the penal code.

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Updated: 25-Jul-2008