JACOBS v. STATE (2019)

OPINION

Appellant was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and, pursuant to Texas Penal Code § 12.42(c)(2)(A)(i) and (B)(v), sentenced to life in prison. He appealed, arguing that the Louisiana conviction used to enhance his punishment was not “substantially similar” to the elements of a Texas offense, as required by the statute.

The Court of Appeals applied the two-pronged test from Prudholm v. State, 333 S.W.3d 590 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011), and Anderson v. State, 394 S.W.3d 531 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013), to conclude that the two statutes were not “substantially similar.” Jacobs v. State, 565 S.W.3d 87 (Tex. App. – Texarkana 2018, pet. granted). It therefore reversed the trial court's judgment on punishment and remanded for a new punishment hearing. Id.

The State has filed a petition for discretionary review of this decision. We recently abandoned the second prong of the Prudholm/Anderson test in Fisk v. State, 574 S.W.3d 917 (Tex. Crim. App. 2019).

The Court of Appeals in the instant case did not have the benefit of our opinion in Fisk. Accordingly, we grant the State's petition for discretionary review, vacate the judgment of the Court of Appeals, and remand this case to the Court of Appeals in light of our opinion in Fisk.

Per curiam.