State ex. rel. Turner v. McDonald

In State ex. rel. Turner v. McDonald, 676 S.W.2d 375 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984) the Court observed that a literal reading of the earlier amendment would compel the conclusion that a PSI was required in every criminal case, regardless of whether the case was tried before the jury or the judge, unless certain conditions were met. McDonald, 676 S.W.2d at 378. The Court stated that "neither the Legislature nor this Court has ever suggested that" a PSI "is relevant to routine imposition of a sentence." Consequently, we found that the "broad mandate" found in the literal language of the earlier amendment "simply cannot be squared with the modest grant of discretionary authority reenacted" by the subsequent amendment. Upon that reasoning, we held that the mandatory provision found in the earlier amendment was invalid and without effect. McDonald, 676 S.W.2d at 379