Cooper v. State (1973)

In Cooper v. State, 500 S.W.2d 837 (Tex. Crim. App. 1973), the court determined whether an indictment gave sufficient notice of the prior convictions to be used for sentence enhancement. The indictment charged the defendant with burglary and alleged two prior felony convictions. Id. at 839. The enhancement paragraphs referred to the wrong paragraph when it alleged the sequence of prior felony convictions. Id. The court concluded the mistake did not mislead the defendant as to what paragraph the enhancement paragraph referred to because the mistake was an obvious clerical error. Id. at 840. The court further concluded that the enhancement allegations, "while not to be commended," were sufficient to allow the defendant to be charged as a habitual criminal. Id.