Noah Michael Johnson v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, held that the statute of limitations was not tolled by an earlier attempted-murder indictment because the later family-violence charges did not necessarily allege the same act, conduct, or transaction. The court reversed the convictions for assault family violence with a prior family-violence conviction and assault family violence by impeding breath or circulation with a prior family-violence conviction, and remanded for dismissal of the amended indictment.

Holdings

1. The prior attempted-murder indictment did not toll the statute of limitations for the subsequent family-violence indictment because the indictments did not necessarily allege the same act, conduct, or transaction.
2. The family-violence charges were barred by the statute of limitations, and the trial court erred by denying Johnson's motion to dismiss them.
3. The court did not reach the speedy-trial issue because relief on the statute-of-limitations issue fully resolved the appeal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the attempted-murder indictment tolled the statute of limitations for the later family-violence offenses because both indictments alleged the same conduct, act, or transaction.
2. Whether the trial court erred by denying Johnson's motion to dismiss the family-violence charges as barred by the statute of limitations.
3. Whether Johnson's speedy-trial claim required reversal.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded