Dingler v. State

“It is common knowledge that the Department of Corrections does not admit convicted defendants without certified copies of a judgment and a sentence duly certified to by the district clerk where the conviction was obtained and they then become part of the inmate’s official record at the Department of Corrections.” Blakes v. State, 634 S.W.2d 319 (Tex.Cr.App.1982).

Since the issue presented here is not the admission of the judgments or sentences, but instead concerns the admissibility of “pen packets,” I must dissent. The rule set forth in Blakes, supra, has been followed without question until…