COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH NO. 02-13-00204-CR

RODNEY JAMES RICKETTS APPELLANT V. THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE

---------- FROM CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT NO. 4 OF TARRANT COUNTY TRIAL COURT NO. 1321576R ---------- DISSENTING OPINION ---------- I agree with the majority that the evidence sufficiently supports Appellant’s conviction for theft. I cannot agree with the majority’s handling of Appellant’s second point on appeal. When the State alleges prior felony convictions for purposes of enhancing punishment, and the defendant does not plead true to the enhancements, the burden of proof is on the State to prove what the State had alleged: a prior felony conviction of sufficient level to satisfy a sufficiency review. 1 Because the majority shifts the burden of proof to Appellant, I must respectfully dissent from the majority’s analysis and conclusions regarding Appellant’s second point on appeal.

/s/ Lee Ann Dauphinot LEE ANN DAUPHINOT JUSTICE PUBLISH DELIVERED: September 4, 2014

Jordan v. State, 256 S.W.3d 286, 291–92 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008).