Castaneda v. State

I respectfully dissent. The Court reverses four out of five bond forfeiture final judgments for the State and imposes final judgments for the bondsman on an issue and a statute that neither party relied upon in the trial court nor in the court of appeals. First, the Court bases its decision upon an interpretation of a statute that neither this, nor any other appellate court, has ever made. Second, I believe that the Court misreads article 17.16(a)(2) & (b), the bail bond statute upon which it relies, as well as that statute’s purpose. Third, I think the Court misconstrues the underlying…