Varnes v. State
Texas Court of Appeals
63 S.W.3d 824 (2001)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Jimmy Dean Varnes (defendant) was convicted and sentenced for indecency with a child. After serving most of his sentence, he was offered parole several weeks before his sentence was due to finish. One of the parole requirements was that Varnes register as a sex offender after release, regardless of parole status. A parole officer explained this requirement to Varnes during his pre-release interview. The requirement was also listed in the judgment of Varnes’s original conviction. Varnes refused to comply with the conditions of parole and completed his sentence in prison. Several months after his release, Varnes was stopped by police and questioned. They learned that he had not registered as a sex offender and arrested him for the failure to do so, a felony. Varnes was convicted and appealed, arguing that the statute requiring registration was unconstitutional because it violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Varnes argued that he did not have proper notice of the registration requirement and that the state had failed to complete its duties under the statute, which included completing the initial registration for Varnes after his release.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Wittig, J.)
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