Coleman v. State
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
643 S.W.2d 124 (1982)

- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Norman James Coleman (defendant) was charged with theft in an indictment alleging that he unlawfully and intentionally appropriated four men’s suits from the owner of the suits. Texas law defined appropriate in two ways: as the transfer or purported transfer of title or interest in property from one person to another, or as the acquisition or control over property. The indictment did not specify which definition the state alleged in Coleman’s case or the manner by which Coleman was alleged to have appropriated the suits. Coleman moved to quash the indictment, arguing that it failed to give him sufficient notice of the meaning of the word appropriate. The trial court denied the motion, and Coleman was convicted of theft and sentenced to life imprisonment as a repeat offender. Coleman appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by denying his motion to quash. The court of appeals granted Coleman’s appeal, and the state appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Teague, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.