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James Todd Harrington v. State
Citation: Not availableDocket: 12-07-00302-CR
Court: Court of Appeals of Texas; September 3, 2008; Texas; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
James Todd Harrington appeals two convictions for possession of methamphetamine, with the trial court sentencing him to consecutive terms of fifteen and ten years. Harrington contends that the trial court erred by ordering the sentences to run consecutively, arguing that they originate from similar offenses prosecuted in a single criminal proceeding. The State initially claims that Harrington waived this issue by not raising it at trial, but the court notes that a void sentence can be challenged at any time. The court cites Texas Health and Safety Code Section 481.132, which mandates that sentences for multiple convictions arising from a single criminal episode must run concurrently. The court confirms that both charges were prosecuted in a single action as agreed by both parties during the plea hearing. Therefore, since the possession charges are linked and do not represent distinct transactions, the court reforms the judgment in cause number 12-07-00302-CR to impose concurrent sentences while affirming the judgment in cause number 12-07-00303-CR. Determining whether two offenses stem from the same criminal episode hinges on the interpretation of "similar." Absent a statutory definition, the term is understood in its plain meaning, defined as "related in appearance or nature; alike though not identical." The appellant faced two convictions for possession of a substance in Penalty Group I, as outlined in Section 481.115(a) of the Texas Health and Safety Code, which categorizes offenses by the quantity of the controlled substance involved. The statute maintains that the nature of the offense remains unchanged, regardless of punishment variations. Although the amounts of methamphetamine possessed differed, making the punishments distinct, the court concluded that these convictions are similar offenses under Section 481.132(a). Citing precedent, the court noted that even offenses in different penalty groups can be deemed similar. Consequently, both offenses are considered to arise from the same criminal episode, mandating that the trial court order the appellant's sentences to run concurrently as per Section 481.132(d). The judgment from trial court cause number 35,671-B was modified to remove the cumulation order, while affirming the adjusted judgment in that case and upholding the judgment in cause number 35,673-B. The opinion was delivered by Chief Justice James T. Worthen on September 3, 2008, with the panel comprising Worthen, Griffith, and Hoyle.